Different Feelings
by Agent08
Summary: COMPLETE. Princess Sakura and Prince Syaoran, enemies from the beginning. Will having to live with eachother for six months cause them to have different feelings? They dont think so, but do their hearts also? SyaoranxSakura.
1. Prologue

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

**Original Summary:** (Medieval settings) Enemies from the beginning, Syaoran and Sakura are forced to live with each other for six months, for unknown reasons. For the sake of their families, they agree. Their hatred for the other grows every second, but will something else come out of their so called "friendship"? SS! RR! Flames will do!

Disclaimer: "I own Card Captor Sakura, and all of their characters. Yep. I own it ALL." If you believed that, you're an idiot. I don't own CCS or ANY of it's characters. Geesh...

Short Key:  
"..." - talking  
_italic font_ – thoughts/exaggerated words

Now...on with the story!

**Prologue **

A young, five-year-old Sakura Kinomoto ran behind the cherry blossom tree, and sat there, quietly waiting. With her shiny auburn hair flowing behind her, she stuck out her tiny head from one side of the tree, and glanced nervously around the castle grounds. When she found the coast was clear, she stepped out of the shade that the cherry blossom tree had given her, when all of a sudden, a tiny hand pushed her hard on the ground. "TAG!" the person yelled. "YOU'RE IT!"

Tiny Sakura got into a sitting position on the ground, and a big fat round tear escaped her eye. "No fair!" She shouted to also five-year-old Syaoran Li, young Prince of China. "You cheated!" The adventurous little boy stuck his nose high up in the air, and folded his arms across his not yet developed chest.

"I do not cheat, young maiden! Cheating is for those who are less capablethan myself!" He said, trying to sound as professional as his father did when he was alive. The Princess of Japan had abruptly gotten up, and was now facing him with an angry look on her face. She put both of her hands on his shoulders, and shoved him rudely onto the ground just as she was.

"Well, THERE! Now YOU'RE it!" she said triumphantly, and ran away to find a new hiding place. Syaoran got up gruffly, and soon found her once again. He pushed her onto the ground this time.

"No! YOU'RE IT!" Sakura took hold of his ankle, and pulled him onto the ground so he landed with a soft thud. He yelled in fake pain, and flicked Sakura on the forehead childishly.

"You only did that because you're mad that I'm winning!"

Sakura flicked him also. "There is no winner in tag, you oaf!"

The anger inside of Syaoran slowly began to build up. "I don't know why my mother let's me play with you! You're an unfair CHEAT!" he spat.

"And YOU'RE a stupid, great big oaf!" Sakura shot back. Syaoran glared at her. Soon, they were on top of each other, throwing weak punches and kicks to each other's legs and arms.

_**xxxxxx**_

"So, Fujitaka, it's settled then?" Yelan said, as she took a sip of her green tea.

"Yes it is, Yelan. Twelve years from now, our children will be - " Fujitaka began, but was interrupted by the sound of their children. Fujitaka screwed up his face, and put his tea down. "What on earth is that noise?"

Both him and Yelan stood up from their seats and ran to the gardens, where they found Sakura and Syaoran fighting. Fujitaka pried Sakura off of Syaoran, and Yelan also with her son. Sakura's pink gown was ripped and covered in twigs and grass. Syaoran's clothing was in the same condition.

"Children!" Yelan shouted. "What is going on here?"

"HE/SHE STARTED IT!" Syaoran and Sakura started at the same time, both pointing an accusing finger at one another. Sakura gathered in her arms what was left of her pink gown, and looked up at her father.

"Father!" She shouted. "Do you see what he has done to my gown?"

Syaoran looked at his mother, and yelled also. "Mother! She cheated!" Sakura's mouth fell open.

"I was NOT!"

"You were too! You cheated because I was winning and since you're a girl, you ALWAYS lose!"

"Father! Did you hear what that boy said! There's no winner in tag! I already told you that, you buffoon!"

Fujitaka and Yelan rubbed their foreheads in frustration. They had just enough of all their bickering and shouting, when Fujitaka pulled his daughter away.

"Sakura," he began softly. "You cannot act that way in front of guests. You will have to be nice to them when you grow older!"

Sakura grunted, and folded her arms across her chest. "Must I, Father! He's so rude! And on the other hand father, it's not as if I'm to marry that boy!"

Fujitaka gave her a weak smile, and cupped her face. "My dear, you must apologize," Sakura opened her mouth in protest, but before she could get a word out, she heard her father's firm voice. "Now," he added. Sakura planted on an angry face, and stomped towards Syaoran and his mother, her father trailing close behind her.

"It was nice to have you here today," Fujitaka said, nodding his head both to Syaoran and Yelan. "We will see each other soon!"

When Sakura said nothing, her father gave her a tiny nudge. She looked up pleadingly at her father with her emerald green orbs. Fujitaka gave her a stern look, and through gritted teeth, she said, "I'm sorry for fighting with you. I will miss you greatly, oh, Prince of China."

Yelan smiled pleasantly at Sakura, and also nudged her son. Syaoran gave his mother the same pleading look that Sakura had given to her only parent, but just like Fujitaka, he was given no excuse not to apologize. But unlike Sakura, Syaoran refused to apologize. His mother gave him a look. "Mother!" he wailed. Yelan once again nudged him in the back. "Xiao-Lang," she said. "Apologize now!"

Through bared teeth, Syaoran replied, "I apologize, also. I will hopefully see you soon, Princess of Japan."

Sakura payed no attention to his apology. She whipped around, and began to walk back to the castle. Fujitaka held her back. "Darling, did you forget to do something?" Sakura gave him a confused look, but suddenly remembered. She rolled her eyes, like she had nothing better to do, and curtsied towards Syaoran and his mother. Yelan smiled, and curtsied also. It seemed like it took Syaoran every muscle in his body just to do a simple bow to the girl he despised.

With one last glare at each other, they turned on their heels, and walked their separate ways.

_**xxxxxx**_

_Twelve years later…_

-Sakura-

Sakura Kinomoto walked briskly down the castle halls. She had grown into a fine, young beautiful seventeen-year-old girl. With her auburn hair, falling down to her neck, she looked just as radiant as her mother did. Her emerald green eyes had more shine to them now, and there was not one single man in the castle that didn't wish he had someone like Sakura to come home to every night.

With a smile on Sakura's face, she entered her father's study, and found him fast asleep with his head on his arms. Sakura smiled even more, and kissed her father on the forehead. "Father," she said, shaking him a little. "Father, it's time to wake up! Queen Li is coming to our castle again with her horrid monster of a son!"

Fujitaka looked up from his desk, and saw the face of his daughter. "Oh, Sakura. Don't talk about them like that,"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Father, I do not mean to insult Queen Li, but her son!"

Her father laughed at his daughter's childish attitude. He didn't understand why Syaoran and Sakura hated each other so much. He got Sakura into a tight hug. "Thank you for waking me, daughter. I have a lot of things to do, today!" he said, getting up from his seat and walking towards the door.

"Father! Wait!"

"What is it my dear?"

"Must I spend my day with Syaoran Li keeping him company? Surely, he can find something better to do then hang around me all day!"

"Darling, the two of you should begin to bond! It is important to Queen Li and I thought you two form a friendship…it's been twelve years, my dear. You two have spent every waking moment together. Couldn't you at least try?" Fujitaka asked. This of course, was only part of the reason why they wanted each other to bond so badly.

Sakura rolled her eyes once more. "I'd rather not, Father." She muttered under her breath.

Sakura walked out of the study, and began to talk to herself in the hall. Fujitaka could hear her loud bickering. "Me! Becoming friends with that buffoon of a Prince. Hmph! I think not!"

Fujitaka laughed. He too left the study, and went into the living room, waiting for Yelan and Syaoran's arrival.

_**xxxxxx**_

-Syaoran-

Seventeen-year-old Syaoran stepped out of the horse drawn carriage, with a stern look on his face. There he was once again, staring at the white marble castle of the Kinomoto's. He looked around, his messy brown hair flowing in every which way. He heard a sudden giggle come from the castle. He turned, and saw a maid, obviously trying to flirt with him.

Syaoran winked at her, and looked around once more. He saw the gardens in which he and Sakura had last fought. No, I'm not referring to the time when they were five-year-olds. Syaoran and Yelan visited regularly, hoping that Sakura and her son would build some sort of bond. The last argument that Syaoran and Sakura had was not but a week ago. No fists or legs were included - they were much too mature to have those kinds of fights anymore. That argument was only verbal. With lots of cussing.

Yelan and himself walked into the castle and saw Sakura. With one look at him, Sakura scowled, and walked towards them, her beautiful purple gown flowing behind her. "Hello, Queen Li. It is a pleasure to have you here today," Sakura greeted. She gave a look of disgust to Syaoran, and added, "Hello, Prince."

Syaoran returned her look of disgust, and also replied, "Good day, Princess."

Sakura whipped around, and led the way to their living room. "My father is waiting for you, Queen Li. Prince, you may do as you wish around the castle. Just do your best to not break anything,"

"Very funny, Princess. The only time I'd break anything is to annoy yo - " but his insult was interrupted.

"Now, Xiao-Lang. Be nice. I will be with King Kinomoto." Yelan said. Syaoran nodded, and soon enough he was left alone with Sakura.

Sakura studied him. For a disgusting maggot, Sakura found him quite handsome. His chocolate brown hair was extremely messy, but that somehow made all the girls in the kingdom want him even more than they already did. His undeveloped chest he once had when he was five was no longer undeveloped. He was very built and masculine, and his intense amber eyes only made him a lot more wanted by all the girls.

Syaoran scowled. "What are you looking at?"

Sakura snapped out of her trance, and shook her head. "Nothing,"

"Right..." Syaoran replied, with a smirk on his face that could easily be read as "time to annoy the Princess!"

Sakura sighed. "Listen hear you buffoon, I have better things to do then spend my entire day with the likes of you, so if you don't mind, stay out of my way,"

Syaoran chuckled. "Oh please. You're using insults you've used when we were five!"

"That's because they still seem fit!" Came Sakura's reply, and without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away.

_Men. _She thought.

Syaoran shook his head. _Women._.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Oh, Fujitaka. How will we make this arrangement work? Our children hate each other so much! I don't see how this will ever work out! We're supposed to tell them today!" Yelan cried, her head buried in hands.

"That's right," Fujitaka replied. "But they will not get married just yet, although Nadeshiko's dying wish was that our only daughter marry the Prince of China…"

Both Fujitaka and Yelan reminisced about Nadeshiko, Fujitaka's deceased wife and Yelan's great friend. Just before she'd died, she told her husband of what she always wanted to become of her daughter…she wanted her to become Queen of China. Neither Fujitaka nor Yelan could refuse this. They'd do anything for Nadeshiko.

Yelan snapped back to reality first. "It will not matter when they get married! They despise each other! They will never accept this arrangement!"

"They will. Soon enough, they will. But instead of pronouncing their arranged marriage to them, we will tell them to…" Fujitaka said, searching for the words in his mouth.

"We will what?"

"We will tell them that they will have to live with each other for six months!" He said, declaring the first thing that came to his mind. It seemed like something an annoyed parent would do with two siblings – force them to sit in a corner togetherand work out their problems until they sorted everything out.

Yelan's jaw fell down to the ground. "That's preposterous! They can barely stay in the same room together! How will they live with each other?"

"Yelan, that is the thing! They will bond for those six months, and become closer than they ever have before. You just wait, they will fall madly in love with each other soon enough.

"But, Fujitaka. They've hated one another for twelve years! What makes you think that six months will make any difference at all?"

"It doesn't…but…we can only hope for the best, Yelan,"

"That's right…only the best." She agreed with a sigh.

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**Oooh la, la. Until next chapter, folks. :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	2. Arguing Again

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own this, that, CCS, etc...only the plot and that's it, thanks.

Short Key:  
"…" – talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter two!

**Arguing Again**

Sakura walked into her bedroom, and lay flat on her back on her bed. She turned over onto her stomach, and held her head up with her hands, her elbows sinking into the soft pink fabric of her blanket. Sakura stared at the wall, and for some reason, saw the face of no one other, than Syaoran Li.

Although she was staring at his face that was supposedly stuck onto the wall, she wasn't staring at it with adoring, soft eyes. She was glaring at it, with utmost hatred filled in her emerald orbs. "Syaoran Li," she spat. "Who does he think he is?" She threw a pillow against the wall, and his face disappeared from her mind. "A snobby boy with probably more money than his tiny brain could count! I hate him!"

She sat up and took a seat by her vanity. She looked into the mirror and saw the lady staring back at her. "AGH!" she cried. "Why do I have to be so bored when he's around? I can't do anything when he's about the castle!"

Tired of just sitting and looking at herself in the mirror, she stepped forwards to her balcony. The wind began to play with her hair, and the cherry blossom trees swayed also. She looked beneath her to the gardens, and saw him . That disgusting maggot of a boy, Syaoran Li. "What's that brat up to now?" She eyed him carefully, watching his every move. She heard a rustle in one of the bushes, and instead of just looking at Syaoran; she focused more on the bush.

Now, Syaoran had appeared beside the bush, and he was muttering words to something inside it. "What on earth?" Sakura said confused. "What could he possibly be talking to - Oh my goodness!"

Sakura stared at what she saw in front of her. "Oh, Kero!" She said, and ran as quickly as she could to the gardens. "Kero! Prince! What are you two doing!"

She saw Kero, her precious kitten, clawing at the man she hated quite furiously. Syaoran was trying his best to pry the cat off of him. He had already many bruises and cuts from when the cat and himself had last made contact. And, although Sakura hated it when Kero hurt anybody, she did nothing to help Syaoran whatsoever. What was going on at the moment seemed to entertain her.

When finally, Kero had stopped beating on Syaoran, his robes were almost torn apart. "For goodness sake! Keep that cat of yours away from me!" Syaoran cried, fixing his hair as it was in a tangled mess. Sakura stroked her kitten's fur lovingly, and turned to look at Syaoran.

"Humph," she began. "He wasn't doing anything wrong."

Syaoran's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the ground. He lifted his arm, and pulled his sleeve up. "You call something like THIS, nothing wrong?" he said, flashing a deep cut he had just recently gotten from Kero. "And," he continued. "You call THIS, nothing wrong?" This time, he showed her his neck, with a big bruise on it that he had thanks to Kero once again. "That damned cat of yours has got to go! He's done nothing but cause trouble!"

It was Sakura's turn for her jaw to drop. "How dare you say that about my Kero?" She held the kitten close to her chest, as if protecting him from an evil monster. "Now, now, love. Did the mean old Prince hurt you?" she said lovingly. Kero licked her hand in reply with her tiny pink tongue gliding over her hand. Sakura giggled. "Of course he didn't...although I'm quite surprised," she added in a disgusted voice, turning away and walking back inside the castle.

But before she could go any further, she heard Syaoran's booming voice stop her. "What was that suppose to mean?" Sakura turned around, and was now facing him. She let go of Kero, and let him run around the castle, the sound of his footsteps slowly disappearing. "You're cat is evil, I tell you! He's pure evil! It's like every time I'm at your castle, he attacks me!"

Sakura folded her arms across her chest once more, just like she always did when Syaoran and she were arguing. "You agitated him! That's all! And you have no right calling Kero evil! You're the very last person that should be talking about someone or something being EVIL, as you're it yourself!"

"For goodness sake! You think I'm evil because I beat you in a game of TAG? Goodness gracious, woman! That was twelve years ago!" he replied. He took a step forward, and Sakura took one backwards.

"Oh! How many times do I have to tell you to get it through your thick head? There's no winner in tag! And you know what else?" she said, taking a step forwards. But Syaoran did not take a step back as she did. He stood his ground. "I don't JUST hate you because you cheat all the time! You DO realize that we've been arguing and beating each other in games for the past twelve years, don't you? When you've won against me in games, I know it's because you did something to make me lose!"

Syaoran looked hopelessly up into the air, and rolled his eyes. "You know what, Kinomoto?"

Sakura made no reply. She just looked at him, and waited for what else he was going to say.

"I honestly don't understand why you think that I always cheat in games. If anything, YOU were the one that was cheating!"

"I can beat you in any game with my eyes closed, Syaoran Li!"

"You wish!"

Syaoran and Sakura went on with their arguing. It was like watching a tennis match. Your eyes would dart back and forth, when ever someone had another insult for the other person. And instead of watching a tennis ball hit a racket, Syaoran and Sakura would shoot back at each other with an insult a lot more hurtful than the previous one. But neither of them took it seriously. Of course they didn't. They had grown use to being insulted by the other, and when they grew up to be seventeen, they honestly didn't care about what the other person had to say about them.

It was also kind of weird. They had only started hating each other because they obviously weren't playing very nicely when they were five-years-old. They never knew that their hatred for one another would grow to be so big! But it seemed like they had good reason to hate the other. It seemed like the next time Syaoran visited, he got meaner, and a lot snobbier. He always had more friends than Sakura, and for that she hated him even more! And when ever Syaoran saw Sakura, it was like she grew to be more disgusted of him, and meaner, also! Sakura was a lot smarter than him too. For that, Yelan would always compliment her, and Syaoran hated the fact his mother was more impressed by a silly girl than her own son.

Soon enough, they're yelling had grown loud enough for the whole world to see. You would've suspected at least SOME people to show up, and tell them to shut their traps, but no one did. Everyone in the kingdom was also use to them always insulting each other. So use to it that it was like when ever one of their conversations turned into an argument (which it always seemed it always did), they would just simply ignore it, and go on with their daily routines.

Very soon, Syaoran and Sakura's arguement had gone onto something OTHER than cheating in games, but now, onto being a person that played with the strings of someone's heart.

"You disgust me! Always showing up with a new girl around the kingdom every week, and then before we know it, there you are again! With a different girl's arm wrapped around yours! What is it that you do Syaoran, hmm?" Sakura asked bitterly.

Syaoran listened to what Sakura had to say about himself. He looked at her with bored eyes, as if he'd heard her say that a million times before.

Sakura continued on, "Do you force your hand down their throats and THEN pull their hearts out? Or do you stab them with a knife first, and then make your attempt to break their heart?"

Syaoran laughed a sarcastic laugh. His chuckle, ringing like a maniac in Sakura's ears. "Neither, for your information, Princess! But please, do tell me how it is that YOU get MEN to fall for you? Is it your greasy brown hair? Or is it your foul swamp coloured green eyes?"

"I have many charms that a man should fall for - !"

"Oh, would you like me to go on?"

"No thank you!"

"Oh! It's a miracle, ladies and gentlemen! The snobby little princess has used her manners! I didn't know she had any!"

"Oh, come off it!"

"Come off what? I'm not on anything - "

"Besides my NERVES!"

Syaoran smiled with satisfaction.

Sakura's face was the shade of a tomato. Her fists were rolled up in balls, and her knuckles were white. You could practically see steam coming out of her ears. Her eyes narrowed, and she muttered something under her breath. It sounded like a foul swear word, too rude for her to actually say it to Syaoran himself. Before she did anything that she'd regret, like slap him or something, she began to walk away. But oh no, Syaoran wasn't going to let her get away THAT easily.

"Princess! Where are you going? We've barely started!"

"AGH!" Sakura screamed. "Go away! I have A LOT more better things to do than waste my time and argue with low life scum like yourself! So if you please, GET - OUT - OF - MY - WAY!" she finished, anger dripping with every word in her sentence.

With one last final smile of satisfaction, Syaoran left her alone. But the both of them could predict that it wouldn't be long until there next arguement.

Suddenly, something struck Sakura's mind. She had remembered that when she was staring down at Syaoran from her balcony, she saw him mutter something to Kero. What exactly did he say to Kero that made him so angry? So, practically forgetting about their arguement that they had just had thirty seconds ago, she turned back around, and went to a maid that was nearest to the gardens.

"Um, excuse me?" Sakura said politely, interrupting a maid that was watering the plants. "May I have a moment?"

The maid smiled, and stopped. "Yes, Miss?"

"Um, were you here at the gardens just a few minutes ago, watering these plants?"

"Yes, yes I was."

"Oh, well...did you happen to hear what that man said to my kitten?"

"Er - yes I did Miss. But I don't think you'd want to hear what he said - " the maid said, and began to water the plants again. Sakura grabbed the maid's arm, and turned her to face herself once more. Smiling politely, she began to talk to the maid again.

"Yes I would, Ma'am. Please tell me? Word for word?"

The maid sighed. "Alright, Miss. Well - Prince Syaoran said 'Hey fat feline! Where's that idiot Mistress of yours? Has she gone to get you more cat food to get you a lot more fat than you already are?' "

Sakura thanked the maid. "Um - by the way, Ma'am. Please feel free to call me Sakura." she said, and ran off to find Syaoran once again.

Sakura found him in the castle halls, with his hands behind his head, as if he was bored out of his mind. Sakura put on a smug smile, and folded her arms. "I knew it," she said. Syaoran stopped walking abruptly, and turned around to meet Sakura. He also plastered on a smug smile.

"Aw, has the Princess come back for another insult? Believe me; I've got more up my sleeves,"

"For your information, Syaoran Li, I just happened to know why my Kero attacked you!"

"Oh...well...that's some rather good news, I suppose. Get him to a doctor! I just loves to claw at me - "

"Oh yeah! Of course he does! You know, seeing as you just called him a 'Fat Feline' I'd want to have at go at you too."

Syaoran frowned. "Um - er - I... I don't know what you're talking about!"

" 'Don't know what I'm talking about' my arse!" Sakura said, her arms dropping to her side. She waggled a finger in front of Syaoran, and put on a threatening voice. "STOP harassing my kitten. If you go anywhere NEAR him, I'll -- "

"You'll what?" Syaoran asked, not scared of her threat at all. "You'll go running off to one of your palace guards and tell them to go get that 'Mean Old Prince' ?"

"Humph. As a matter of fact, yes."

Syaoran let out a howl of laughter. "Wow, Kinomoto. That just goes to show how you can handle your own battles!" he said sarcastically.

Sakura let out a low growl, almost like one of Kero's. "Stay away from my kitten!"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that a million times before. Have I ever let up? No. I haven't."

"Well that's your own fault! I mean, YOU'RE the one that's always complaining about all the bruises you get because of my 'Fat Feline'! If you hate being clawed at, then why don't you just stop harassing him!"

Syaoran stroked his chin thoughtfully, and finally answered. "Good point, Kinomoto. I'm surprised you came up with such a good reason. I guess that greasy brown hair isn't getting to you at all!"

Sakura growled once more. "My greasy brown hair has nothing to do with this! Do us both a favor, and leave my kitten alone!"

"I can't! It's just way too much fun to stop! I mean, you should see the look on the cat's face! Fat Feline is the best name to call him! It gets him so - "

"Agitated? Wow, Li! You seem to have that 'agitating' effect on everyone!"

Syaoran blew on his finger nails, and rubbed them slyly on his chest. "What can I say? It's a gift!"

Sakura glared at him. Clearing her throat, and putting her hands on her hips, she spoke once more, "Listen, Li. Like I've already told you, I have a lot better things to do then talk to you...so..." Sakura said, and picked up Kero who had just recently entered the hall. "I have things to do with my Kitten."

"Right...Whatever you say, Princess."

Sakura stormed off, but before she could go any further, her Father walked in front of her, and dragged her back all the way to Syaoran. "Hello, dear." he said, tugging her back.

"Father! What are you doing?" Sakura said, being tugged so quickly that she had to let go of Kero. "Father! Stop tugging at my arm! You're making me walk too fast!" she said, and began to walk on her tip toes because of their speed. Finally, they came back to Syaoran, and there he was, in the same spot as they were just a few minutes ago.

"Hello, King Kinomoto," Syaoran said, and bowed down low. Fujitaka smiled. Sakura could just read his thoughts. "What a nice boy!" He must've thought. Disgusted by that, Sakura scowled, and turned to Fujitaka.

"Father, what's the meaning of this?"

Fujitaka now took hold of both Syaoran and Sakura's arms, and pulled them all the way into the living room. "Uh - King Kinomoto! Wha -- what are you doing? Stop tugging at my arm so fast...I'm gonna lose b - b - balance!" Syaoran said, and tripped over his own feet. Luckily, the couch was there to catch him, and Sakura, was pushed down by her shoulders to sit next to Syaoran.

"Father! What IS this?" she asked annoyed. Syaoran sat up straight.

"I'd like to know the same thing, Sir."

Suddenly, Touya, Sakura's older brother came rushing into the room. But it didn't seem like he was running...he was being forced to the living room! But...by who? Yelan Li, of course!

"Queen Li! I think I can make it to my own living room by myself! What was the meaning of -- Sakura..." he said. Sakura's eyes widened. This was the first time seeing her brother in two months! He had been gone on a trip with his men. Some trading expedition, Sakura heard.

"Touya!" Sakura squealed, and practically jumped into his arms. "Touya! I've missed you so much! How are you?"

Touya smiled. "I'm fine, little sister...What's that gaki doing here?"

"Touya!" Fujitaka scolded. "Don't talk about Syaoran like that." Touya nodded solemnly. He was raised very well. He acted like a soldier towards his Father. It was amazing how he did it though, as he was never raised to act that way.

"Yes, sir." Touya replied.

Everyone took their seats. Sakura sat on an armchair, Touya and Fujitaka behind her on either side of the chair. Syaoran was sitting on the armchair opposite of her, and Yelan was behind him.

"Everyone," Fujitaka began, and took his place in the center of the room. "Yelan and I have an announcement to make,"

"Sakura, Syaoran...listen."

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**I sincerely apologize if the setting/speaking/whatever else doesn't seem very realistic to you.**

**Read and review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	3. Shocking Developments

Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Disclaimer: CCS is not mine, never will be. And although, I hate to admit it, neither will the characters. Farewell, beloved, Syaoran-kun! x)

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
- ... - - scene change/flashback/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter three!

**Shocking Developments**

"Sakura, Syaoran...listen,"

Sakura began to tremble in her arm chair. The way her Father was speaking was beginning to scare her. Sakura nodded stiffly. "Yes, Father. We are. Now please, tell me what this is all about?"

Touya nodded in agreement. "Yes, Father. I'd like to know also,"

Syaoran just stared at Fujitaka. He made no agreement to what Sakura and Touya had said. He just stared blankly at Fujitaka, wanting to know what he had to say next.

Yelan suddenly stepped up from behind Syaoran, and went beside Fujitaka. She held her hands together, as if to prevent them from shaking. You could almost see the sweat that was starting to appear on her forehead. Whatever the two of them had to say probably wasn't going to be very good news.

"Father," Sakura said in a quivering voice. "You're starting to scare me...please. Just tell us!"

Fujitaka nodded once more, and looked both Syaoran and Sakura square in the eyes. He opened his mouth, and was about to make his announcement...

Sakura watched as her father opened his mouth, and words began to form. What if what he had to say was something really bad? Life threatening?

"Sakura, Syaoran...I don't know how to say this, but...The both of you will have to live with each other...and ONLY you two...for six months,"

Sakura looked up at her father. No...it wasn't something really bad. No, it wasn't something life threatening...

It was worse.

"WHAT?" Sakura screamed, getting up from her chair. "WHY?" She looked at her dad for an explenation, but when he gave none, she turned to Yelan for an answer that her dad obviously couldn't give her.

"Those reasons will remain unknown, for the both of you," Yelan said. She looked alot more calm then she did just a while ago. Now, she looked quite stern, and she wasn't sweating anymore. It was as if she never even had that look of nervousness on her face just thirty seconds ago.

"Father...are you really going to let my sister live with that...that...that gaki!" Touya shrieked, stepping forwards.

Fujitaka scolded Touya once more. He would not tolerate any insulting at this moment. "Touya! Do NOT talk about Prince Syaoran like that! I've already told you that once!"

Touya nodded solemnly once again, and sighed. It looked as though it took him all his strength not to burst out and strangle Syaoran. "But Father...please, you cannot possibly let my sister stay with...him!"

"It's quite possible!"

Sakura walked up to Fujitaka, and looked at him with pleading eyes. The same pleading eyes she gave him whenever her father would make her do something she didn't want to do. "Father...please! Don't let me stay with him! For six months! Please!" She screamed, almost deafening the ears of her dad.

"Sakura! Settle down! We will discuss this in a calm, quiet manner. Agreed?"

Sakura nodded, and Yelan and Touya did also. Except, for Syaoran. He had been quite quiet during this whole conversation. But, not for long.

"Father, if you're actually going to force me to live with this man for six months, the least you could do is tell me why!"

Yelan and Fujitaka shook their heads. "We cannot do that," Yelan said. "Fujitaka, help me explain." she asked, looking to Fujitaka, who was staring at the floor now.

"W - w - well, you will find out sooner or later, but...not now. Until you have spent the full six months together, that will be the time we will tell you,"

Suddenly, jumping up from his chair, Syaoran burst out and yelled just as loud as Sakura. "_BULL_SHIT!" Everyone looked up at him with shocked mouths. Except for Sakura though. This wasn't the first time she had heard Syaoran swear. Although it probably was for everyone else in the room. "That's CRAP! I will NOT spend six months living with that GIRL!" he screamed, spit flying from his mouth.

Yelan stepped up, and tried to get him to sit down, but her attempts to get him to calm down were futile. "Xiao-Lang! You will not speak like that!"

"I'll speak how I want! And I'll do what I want! And what I want to do is to NOT have to live with that girl!"

Then Sakura walked up to him, and began to scream also. "I agree Father! I am NOT going to live with this spoiled brat!"

"Oh, if I'm a brat, that should make you a prissy girl!" Syaoran shot back.

Touya emerged from the back of the chair once again, and walked threateningly up towards Syaoran. "What'd you just say about my sister?" he asked, taking more steps towards Syaoran. Syaoran did the same, as if wanting to beat him up also, but Fujitaka broke them apart. "Boys! Boys! You will not hurt each other!"

"Father get out of the way! It's time for me to do what I've been wanting to do for the past twelve years!" Touya screamed, and tried to push his father out of the way.

"NO!" Fujitaka screamed. But no one seemed to have heard him. Touya and Syaoran were still trying to get past him, and at the same time, Syaoran was shooting insults at Sakura, who was doing the same in return. Yelan was trying her best to get his attention, by screaming in his face, but that only made things alot louder than they already were.

Fujitaka screamed with all his might. Maybe that would get their attention. "_Everyone stop it!_"

It worked. Sakura had stopped half-way into insulting Syaoran, Touya had frozen, his arms still in the air trying to punch Syaoran, and Syaoran's arms in the same position, and Yelan's mouth was hanging open. "Thank you! Now may we PLEASE discuss this in a calm, quiet manner!"

Sakura walked up to him. "Father, I'm sorry, but...please don't force me to live with him!"

"Yes, Father! I cannot possibly let my little sister stay with...him,"

"Enough! I do not care what either of you have to say! Sakura, Syaoran," he said, turning towards the both of them. "Either you agree, or the amount of months you will be staying with each other will be extended!"

At that, Syaoran and Sakura both shutup. Fujitaka continued. "And Touya! I did not raise you to insult the Prince of China! Apologize! And either you stop complaining also, or Syaoran and Sakura will suffer living with each other for two more months!"

Touya froze, and stood stiff. "I'm sorry, Prince. And, Father...if that is what you really want. Then yes, I give Sakura my blessing to live with...Prince Syaoran."

Fujitaka sighed. "Thank you! And how did you know we wanted you down here because of that?"

Touya shrugged. "I kind of figured it out,"

Sakura and Syaoran both walked up to their parents, and gave them pleading looks. When Yelan and Fujitaka both resisted to give in to their convincing eyes, Syaoran and Sakura both sighed heavily. "Oh well," Sakura began. "If that is the way it must be, then I will accept it. Tell me, Father. Will we be staying in our Summer Holiday Mansion?"

Syaoran joined in, "Or will we be staying at our Winter Holiday Castle?"

Yelan and Fujitaka exchanged nervous looks. "Uh - actually - you two will be staying in a..."

"In a what, Father?" Sakura asked curiously.

"A...a cottage,"

"WHAT?" Syaoran and Sakura screamed in unison. "A cottage? Why a cottage?" Syaoran asked.

"Well son," Yelan said. "Both you and Sakura have to learn something out of this experience. There are two lessons the both of you must learn. But the other cannot be revealed until after the sixth month, understand?"

The two nodded, and Yelan continued. "Well, the other reason is that Fujitaka and myself think that the both of you are...much too spoiled,"

"Spoiled?" They yelled, disbelieving looks on their faces, "How can we be spoiled? We most definitely are not!" Sakura said.

"Although I usually don't do this, I agree with the Princess!" Syaoran also said, joining into their conversation.

"Children, listen you yourselves! Did you not hear what mansions and castles the both of you live in when you were suggesting homes to stay in? And do you ever remember helping out in one single dinner that the maids or servants have prepared for you for twelve years? Or do you remember cleaning up your room once? Ever been given rags to wear like the people out in the streets, bless their souls? Do you?" Yelan spoke.

Syaoran and Sakura gave no reply. Instead, they seemed very interested in their feet at the moment, and began to twiddle their thumbs. They exchanged nervous looks to each other, and they both sighed quite heavily, to show a sign of defeat. "Fine," Sakura muttered under her breath. Syaoran did also, except you could barely hear him say "Very well" with the tone of voice he was using.

Sakura brightened up, and looked up at Fujitaka. "At least Kero will be there with me so I can have some company! I'd really need it - "

Fujitaka interrupted her half way into her sentence. "Ah...Sakura, did you not hear me before? You and Syaoran, and ONLY you and Syaoran will be staying with each other in that cottage," The edges of Sakura's mouth pointed downward, slowly forming into a frown. "Also," Fujitaka continued. "This cottage is far from the castle. It is very isolated, surrounded by many trees and such, so the neither of you will be disturbed during your stay there. But it's within walking distance of the village, in case you two need anything."

"The both of you will make meals by yourselves - it is a _learning_ experience! (Fujitaka included, seeing the frown that came upon Syaoran's face.) And you will be cleaning and decorating your own home. There is a river very near to your cottage. That will be the place where you two will bathe, and wash your clothes, understood?"

Syoaran and Sakura nodded stiffly, and gave each other digusted looks. They were still processing the fact that they had to live with each other for six months inside their heads, but now they were given orders to down their own house work? That was too much.

"Mother, when will this...'move' be taken place?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"Two days from now," Yelan replied.

Sakura's eyes widened in the shape of two round coins. "Two days from now? _Two days from now?_ Why must it take place so soon?"

"So soon?" Yelan asked. "It is to be held two days from now! That is long enough! If we had the choice, we'd march the both of you off to that cottage straight away! But, seeing as you need time to pack, that is the only reason there is a two day gap between now, and the time you will be moving in."

Sakura gave one last pleading look to her Father. When he gave no mercy to her, she turned to Yelan. Yelan did the same as her Father in return to her big puppy dog eyes. Finally, she turned to Touya...he possibly couldn't let her stay with Syaoran by herself for six months...and with house duties! But to her surprise, Touya stared at the wall solemnly. Obviously, he couldn't bare to see the pleading eyes of his little sister.

Sakura gave what sounded like a whimper, and trudged out the door to her bedroom, to begin packing. All through the way upstairs, she purposely stomped on the floor boards quite hard, to cause a racket of noise.

Living with the man she despised for half a year...hell itself couldn't be worse than that.

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**And there it was. Hope you liked it. My sincere apologies once again if the setting/speaking/whatever else does not seem very realistic.**

**Wishing You A Safe and Enjoyable Christmas Holiday,  
**Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	4. Remember When?

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
- ... - - scene change/flashback/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter four!

**Remember When?**

Sakura packed up what was left in her bedroom, and went outside. Her silky summer dress trailed behind her, and the summer sun beat down onto her auburn hair. She sighed, and entered the horsedrawn carriage, and kept her eyes glued onto the scenery. Syaoran came trotting up to her, and entered the carriage also. He looked at her in disgust, and turned his head to keep his eyes looking at anywhere but Sakura.

Sakura's Father, and Syaoran's Mother went on either side of the carriage, and poked their heads through the opened carriage window, to try and speak to their children. Yelan slid her index finger through the window, and moved it back and forth, gesturing for Syaoran to move a bit closer to her so Sakura wouldn't have to hear what they were saying.

"Son," Yelan said, keeping his face very close to hers so he had to hear every word she had to say. "I want you to be nice to her. If I hear any complaint of disrespect from Sakura, Fujitaka and myself will gladly extend your months together!"

Syaoran glared at his mother, and nodded.

Fujitaka was now talking to Sakura, and her face was also very close to her Father's. "Sakura, dear," Fujitaka said. "I know you must hate me for forcing you to live with Prince Syaoran, but you must understand it is for your own good. You'll see when you two have lived with each other for the full six months,"

Sakura smiled at her Father. "Father, I'd never hate you...although, I am finding this whole situation hard to process through my head."

Fujitaka smiled at his daughter in turn, and both parents took a few steps back from the carriage. "Oh! Before we forget," Yelan said, coming over to Fujitaka's side of the carriage so that Syaoran had to lean forward a bit to hear what his Mother was saying. "Your brother, Touya, has agreed to visit the both of you at the end of each month, to ensure that neither of you have been...disrespectful," Sakura smiled, but Syaoran only sank lower in his seat, knowing that at the end of each month, he'd have to see Sakura's monstrous older brother.

"BUT," Yelan continued. "He can only stay there for the afternoon, and inspect what the both of you have done...for example, the both of you must have decorated the house, and it must not be in a large mess, whatever else...understood?"

Syaoran and Sakura nodded, and waved goodbye to their parents. Fujitaka hugged Yelan tightly, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Yelan, calm down...our children will get along one day, and everything will turn out for the best,"

Yelan nodded slightly, and did not stop waving until Syaoran and Sakura's carriages had gone out of sight.

Meanwhile, Syaoran and Sakura's heads were glued to their window, looking at anything but each other. They were in an uncomfortable silence, and neither of them could take it...so, after the ten minutes' silence, Sakura had gathered up enough guts to try and talk to Syaoran without insulting him. "So..." she began, turning away from the window, and looking at Syaoran. Syaoran turned his head, so he was looking at her also.

"So...what?" Syaoran asked.

"Er - D - Do you - um, h - h- how long is this trip going to be to the cottage?" Sakura asked, feeling stupid because she was stuttering for absolutely no reason. Syaoran shrugged.

"Ask the guy whose leading us," Syaoran said, beckoning to the old man in front of them that was whipping the horses to go slightly faster. "He should know,"

Sakura nodded, and bent slightly forward, to try and get the man's attention. The man was almost asleep...Sakura couldn't possibly disturb him, could she? She tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Sir?" Sakura asked, tapping him just slightly harder. "Er - Sir? A - a - Are you awake?" Sakura bent forward a bit more, and saw that what she thought was his hand whipping the horses, was his hand on his knee, going up and down because of the numerous bumps that the carriage was riding over.

"Uh..." Sakura said. "He's asleep,"

Syaoran shrugged once more. "Wake him up then,"

Sakura looked at him and put on a sarcastic face. "Don't you think I would've tried that already?"

Syaoran returned her sarcastic face, and bent forward also, and began to tap the man on his shoulder. When that didn't work, he took hold of both the man's shoulders and shook him wildly. "Wake up! Wake up old man!" He shouted.

"Li, stop it," Sakura said, getting hold if his shoulders and pulling him back onto the seat. "He's obviously not going to wake up."

"And how would you know that, Miss Know-it-all?" Syaoran asked.

"Well, seeing as how you practically screamed in his face, and that you shook him half to death and he still didn't wake up, don't you think that was enough evidence to show that he wouldn't be waking up any time soon?"

"Ugh, there you are again! Always correcting everyone who she sees has made a mistake!"

"First of all, I was just stating the truth. Second of all, I've never done that!" Sakura said, folding her arms across her chest once again. "Name one time!"

Syaoran smirked, and lay back in his seat, his hands behind his head. "Gladly,"

Sakura lay back in her seat also, wanting to hear what Syaoran had to say. She looked at him with interested eyes, and he began to speak. "Remember when we were studying? Our parents forced us to be home-schooled together, and Professor Owen was in the middle of teaching us a lesson. He was teaching us about flowers, and he pronounced 'sakura trees' as 'sakuwa twees.' "

"Well, I had to correct him, didn't I? He said my name wrong!" Sakura explained.

"You moron, I don't know how you ever got good grades in class if you never paid attention,"

Sakura put on a confused face. "What?"

"You don't remember him telling us that he had a funny accent, and that if he said any words wrong, he was terribly sorry?"

Sakura screwed up her face as if she were trying to remember something, but then her mouth turned into the shape of an O. "Oooh! That's why I never understood a single word he said!" Sakura said in realization. She hit herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand, and stared at the carriage roof.

She heard Syaoran chuckle, and sat up straight, glaring at him. "Oh yeah? Well...remember when we were out in the gardens again? We were about seven years old, and you were chasing me again?"

"Yeah, so?" Syaoran said, staring hard at her, trying to figure out what she was trying to recall.

"We had a maid looking after us that day because our parents were having a 'discussion' again," Sakura stopped halfway, and shaped her hand like a duck's mouth and opened it and closed it again, trying to imitate her Father and Yelan's mouths chattering away, "She stopped you when you were just an inch from getting hold of my dress, and you thought she was so pretty, that you - that you - t - t - that you - " Sakura could not continue. She remembered it so well, and for some reason she just couldn't forget about how Syaoran...had an accident.

"I was seven years old! Can you blame me?" Syaoran asked, blushing madly.

Sakura was laughing so hard now that she was finding it hard to breathe, and she had to cover her mouth with her hand so that she wouldn't sound like a crazy maniac. "You were seven years old and you still didn't know how to NOT pee in your robes?" Sakura asked, trying to surpress her giggles as much as she could, but with no avail.

Syaoran glared at her, and began a new topic, so the attention would be driven to Sakura, "Oh yeah? Remember when we were at the Spring Ball? My Mother and your Father forced us to waltz with each other...again, might I add, and when we finally finished, you ran off to the actual guy you wanted to dance with so fast, that you spilled your punch, slid on it and landed face down right infront of him? That was hilarious!"

"I didn't mean to! That was our SIXTH waltz together! I couldn't bare to dance with you again!" Sakura complained.

"Yeah, I felt the same, but did you see me run off as fast as you did!" Syaoran countered.

Sakura pouted like a dog, and tried her hardest to think of a new memory that would embarrass Syaoran just as much as the Spring Ball memory had embarrassed her. She tried her hardest to try and remember an old memory, but it wasn't until Syaoran had beat her to it, and began telling the story of the embarrassing moment Sakura once had, "Okay," he began, clearing his throat of any more chuckles he had to get out of his system, "Remember when you were telling that girl - ? What's her name again? Tomboy - Tocoya -"

"Tomoyo," Sakura said solemnly.

"- Right, her. Anyway, you were telling her how much of a crush you had on dear old Jeremy, and he was RIGHT behind you! He heard everything!" Syaoran said, imitating a girl's voice to get Sakura even more embarassed. He said exactly what she said when she was fourteen during that summer. "Oh he's sooo romantic, Tocoya -- !"

"TOMOYO!" Sakura corrected, a hint of anger in her voice.

" - Yeah, whatever. Oh he's sooo romantic, Tomoyo! I like him sooo much! If only he felt the same way as me! I don't know what he sees in Mary Ann! Oh he's so handsome! Oh he's so polite! Oh he's so..."

Sakura let him continue. She couldn't believe that he actually remembered what she had said about her ex-crush, Jeremy! And she remembered it also...Mary Ann never spoke to her for a week after the little incident.

Sakura's face began to turn different shades of red. Not only because she was embarrassed, but because she was angry. That was one of her worst memories of all time, and she never wanted for someone to recall it ever again...especially not Syaoran. You could practically see the steam coming out from her ears. She began to breathe quite heavily as if she had just ran a marathon. Suddenly, not expecting to do this herself, Sakura let out a loud yell. "UGH!"

Syaoran stopped laughing immediately, and looked at her with surprised eyes. "How dare you recall that memory in front of me? You know how much it hurt me! I cried for a week! And you knew that too! Jeremy never spoke to me again, and Mary Ann only spoke to me unless it was necessary. How can you be so rude as to make me relive one of my worst memories? You're so - so - UGH!" Sakura cried, getting ready to strike.

Syaoran threw his hands up infront of his face. "Hey! Hey! I was only trying to embarrass you! Calm down, Kinomoto!" Syaoran said. Sakura could've sworn that she heard a little bit of panic in his deep masculine voice.

"Calm down? You're an idiot, Li! And idiot's don't get the best out of me!" Sakura cried, and raised her hand to slap him. Her hand was coming down on his face so fast, that Syaoran had no time to react. When her hand was just an inch away from his face, the carriage stopped abruptly, as if it went over a huge road bump.

"What the...?" Sakura said, practically forgetting about what she as about to do. She leaned forward in the carriage, and tapped the man on the shoulder once more, to see what went wrong. "Excuse me, Sir? Sir...? SIR!" Sakura said, annoyed of how he wouldn't wake up.

"Zzzz...Zzzz...Ne? Huh - what?" the man said, waking up. He looked around him, to try and see where he was.

Sakura coughed, to get the man's attention. The man looked behind him, and almost fell out of his seat, as if he was surprised to see a young lady and young man to be sitting behind him in the carriage. "Oh! Prince, Princess! My apologies! Er - we have arrived! Please, let me handle your luggage,"

Sakura smiled politely, and stepped out of the carriage. Almost in an instant, Sakura nearly stopped breathing, because the scenery of where Syaoran and herself were to live for the next six months was absolutely breath taking! Even Syaoran stood still, and stared wide-eyed at the beautiful sight in front of him. "Wow..." Sakura breathed, taking in every detail of her surroundings. "This is - this is - it's absolutely gorgeous..."

Syaoran rolled his eyes, as if the beautiful environment had no effect on him, although it did, and helped the old man carry their luggages into the cottage.

The trees were tall and sturdy, and they surrounded themselves around the cottage. Flowers of all kinds grew in the most perfect spots, and the red-ish, yellow horizon only made things a lot more beautiful than they already were. The river that flowed just a few feet away from the cottage, hidden behind some rose bushes, was still and clear. You could see anyone's reflection just perfectly if you stared into it.

Sakura was so dazzled by the beautiful scenery that she wandered far into the forest. She picked flowers and smelled them with great big whiffs, and ran her hands along the river, and got them just a little bit wet. Suddenly, Syaoran's booming voice rang through out the whole forest. "Kinomoto! Get back here! We have some things to sort out!"

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, and skipped her way back to the cottage. She walked onto the porch, and noticed a hammock, gently swaying with the breeze, and an old rocking chair doing the same. She stepped inside the cottage, and saw Syaoran pacing, as if inspecting the whole house of bugs.

There were exactly two rooms, a bathroom, and one bedroom. The kitchen was very spacey, and it had all the supplies in it that you needed to make a good meal. Like a spatula, pots, pans, etc. The living room was cute and cozy, with two couches facing each other, and a coffee table in the middle. Two nightstands stood on either side of both couches, and a night lamp. Although Sakura had never lived in one of these type of things ever before, she looked at it with adoring eyes, and thought that it was perfect...even for a Princess like herself.

"There's only one bedroom!" Syaoran said out of the blue, and pointed to the bedroom. "How are we suppose to deal with that?" he asked.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Did you ever think that there were two beds in there?"

Syaoran opened his mouth, as if to say, "Of course I have!" But he didn't say that. He closed his mouth, and stomped over into the bedroom, stuck his head out, and scowled at her. "...There are two beds," he said. He hated it when he was wrong, and when Sakura was right.

Sakura grabbed her luggages, and dragged them into the bedroom. There were two beds placed just a few feet away from each other, and a dresser on both sides of the beds for them to place their clothes. Sakura hastily threw her stuff onto the bed which already had covers on it, and said, "I'll take this one,"

She began to unpack, and place stuff into the dresser. She had a certain way of placing things, and said them aloud to herself, as she unpacked. "Underwear, and any other clothing I wear underneath my clothes go in the top drawer," Sakura mumbled. "Formal gowns second drawer..." She said, and placed her shirts and pants in the second drawer. "Seasonal gowns in the third drawer," and she took out some lovely designed dresses and placed them in the third drawer. "And finally...home clothing in the last drawer!" And put everything in the last drawer, since obviously there were only home clothing left.

Syaoran however, just chucked everything he had into various drawers, and said, "I'm done!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, and looked over at Syaoran. He looked back at her, and gave her a face that said, "...What did I do...?"

Sakura sighed, and mumbled to herself, "This is going to be a hell of a first month,"

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**There you have it. Hope you enjoyed.**

**Wishing You A Safe And Enjoyable Christmas Holiday,  
**Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	5. A Day in the Village

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italilc font_ - thoughts  
- ... - - scene change/flashback/exaggerated thoughts  
(A/N: ...) my interruptions

Now...on with chapter five!

**A Day in the Village**

Syaoran woke up on his bed. Yesterday was the very first day he and Sakura had spent with one another in their tiny cottage. Surprisingly, it hadn't gone too bad. They didn't talk to each other at all, and because it was so late in the evening when they had finished unpacking and everything, they had no time to make their dinner. So, seeing as how he had eaten nothing, Syaoran was feeling quite hungry.

He got up from his bed and was surprised to see that Sakura was not in hers. Her blankets were neatly folded, and placed nicely on the top of her pillows. For a Princess with many maids, Sakura was pretty good at cleaning for herself.

Syaoran walked towards the bathroom, and knocked on the door, just incase Sakura was in there - but she wasn't. So, Syaoran stepped inside and washed his face. He splashed himself over and over again with the cold running water. He had so much things to do for their cottage, and Sakura also, but she was no where to be found. After his trip to the bathroom, he ventured into the kitchen, and the living room. Sakura was still yet to be found.

So Syaoran stepped outside onto the porch, where the hammock and rocking chair were still swaying along with the wind. He searched around for her, and called out her name a few times. When there was no reply, Syaoran shook his head and said, "Where could you be...?" and changed into some proper clothes, put on some shoes, and went out into the forest to look for her.

You'd probably expect him to be acting like a little girl, scared of whatever was on the ground like bugs and insects because he was a Prince, but he wasn't. He wasn't scared of anything that was in the forest. Probably because he had gone hunting in the wilderness so much. He was probably used to all the bugs crawling up his legs, and the animals fleeing before him. If anything, he was fascinated by all these things, because it had been such a long time since he had been out on his own, without any palace guard to protect him or whatever. His Mother barely gave him any freedom. Not since his Father had died. None at all.

"Sakura!" Syaoran called out. He heard his echo several times, but that was it. Not Sakura's voice, but only his. So, he trudged further and further into the forest. Twenty minutes had passed until he heard something other than his own voice. He heard a soft giggle coming from behind some trees. "Sakura?" He called out once more. Then, finally, he heard Sakura's cute reply.

"Syaoran? Is that you? Come over here!" She said, calling to wherever Syaoran was.

Syaoran sighed deeply, and walked a few feet, and saw Sakura, with a brown basket in her arms, and she was chasing a butterfly. She was wearing a dirty bandana, and filthy rags - but - they weren't rags. Sakura was wearing her home dresses. They had gotten rather filthy, and that was probably why they looked like they did. "Sakura!" Syaoran said, obviously annoyed. "What are you doing so far into the forest? You DO realize that we have some things to do?"

Sakura giggled softly once more, and let the butterfly get away. "I know that, silly! But we can't accomplish anything without a healthy breakfast, now can we?"

"Healthy breakfast?" Syaoran said. "Healthy breakfast? Look around you, Kinomoto! There isn't anything to eat!"

Sakura snorted, and stood up with the basket still firmly in her arms. "You're not looking hard enough, Li," she said, lifting the basket to meet up with his face. He looked down in it, and saw that it was filled with many brightly coloured fruits. Never before had fruits looked so tasty to him in his entire life. Sakura had obviously just washed them in their nearby river, because there were tiny beads of water still lingering on them, making them look so very delicious.

"W - w - where did you get those?" Syaoran asked, his mouth threatening to spill drool for the fruits.

"I woke up early this morning and decided to get a head start on things. Since we don't have much cooking ingredients for eggs and toast, I decided to come here and look for some tasty fruits!" Sakura said cheerfully. "Do you know how hard these things are to find? I had to look high and low for them!" Sakura said, holding up one fruit. "I hope they were worth looking for,"

"I bet they are..." Syaoran said, still staring at them. Sakura noticed this, and held the fruit up to his face, as if offering it to him.

"Here," She said, thrusting it into his hand. "Do you want it? You can eat it. I can wait. I'm still going to search for more of them, and flowers too!"

Syaoran looked at it hungrily, and began to bite it rather quickly. "Wow! These are good," Syaoran said, taking another bite from it.

"Are they really?" Sakrua said. "Oh! That's good. Oh yes, before I forget, you're coming with me into the village to get some supplies. You know, things like, furniture, vases, more cooking supplies, some ingredients to make our meals - "

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked.

"Oh, your mother didn't tell you? We were given permission from our parents that we were allowed to go into the village to get things for our cottage, and things for our meals. We can stay in there as long as required, no wasting time so you can stay away from the cottage and myself as long as possible - the same rule goes for me." Sakura finished, making her way back to the cottage.

Syaoran sped up to walk beside Sakura, seeing as how she was a few feet ahead of him now. He caught up with her, and grabbed her shoulder, making her stop abruptly. "You know, Kinomoto," he began, a smirk spreading across his face. "Our parents don't have to know if we go against their rules and stay in the village as long as we want, doing what we want," he finished in a persuading tone of voice.

Sakura smiled sadly, and patted his shoulder. "As much as I wish we could do that, Li, there are a dozen palace guards set as surveillance around the village - six sent from my father, six sent from your mother - they'll be checking to see that we're only there doing what we need to be doing,"

Syaoran's smirk fell apart, and it was replaced with a frown. "Are you serious?" he asked. Sakura nodded sadly, and continued to make her way back to their cottage. "I can't believe them,"

"Me neither," Sakura said, shaking her head miserably. "But we can't do anything against it. That's just the way it goes. Anyway, what do you say if I just change out of these dirty clothes and grab what money we have, and then we can make our way into the village? I already know what we're going to buy! We have to get some flower vases, some furniture, some food so we can have a proper meal sometime... " and Sakura blabbered on, until they finally reached the cottage.

Syaoran waited intently outside, and took a seat on the rocking chair. When Sakura came out, she was wearing what looked like a maid's outfit in Syaoran's palace, and carrying a large picnic basket - hey! They were going into the village! Sakura couldn't just wear what she would normally wear. She was in this situation with Syaoran because she was too spoiled with her fancy dresses and everything...she couldn't wear them all the time. Also, (as said before,) they were going into the _village_. If Syaoran and herself wore what they usually wore around their castles, they would stick out like sore thumbs.

Sakura took a step ahead of Syaoran, and began to walk quicker than himself. Syaoran put on a confused face, and stopped her from going any further, "Won't a carriage come to pick us up?" he asked, obviously wondering why they were walking. Sakura shook her head, and patted him on the shoulder just like when she was explaining the palace guards situation to him.

"Didn't you hear correctly? We are living in that cottage because we are too spoiled. Meaning that we have too much fancy clothes, too much palace guards protecting us when there are other people who need more attention, too much servants to do all our work, too much palaces and castles to stay in every holiday vacation, and too much people to take us where ever we want to go, even if our destination is within walking distance!" Sakura said quite fast.

Syaoran stared at her with wide eyes. "We can't even be taken anywhere now?"

Sakura shook her head, and began to walk again, Syaoran following behind her. He pouted like a little puppy dog, and stuck his hands in his pockets. He too was dressed like what a servant would usually wear around his Castle. As much as it disturbed him to not be wearing what a proper Prince should be, he had no choice but to cope with his current situation with a smile on his face - although he had on a pout.

Syaoran and Sakura walked in silence for the first few minutes. It wasn't until Sakura began to sing quietly and pick flowers, that Syaoran began to speak. He watched her, quite amazed that she wasn't complaining about anything. Of course, she complained at first, pleading and begging with him to their Mother and Father, hoping that they wouldn't have to live with one another. But none the less, after her Father told her how much it meant to him, she did what she was told without anymore arguement. How he adored the way she was so obedient when it came to her Father. She would do anything for him. Absolutely anything.

"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked.

Suddenly Sakura stopped singing, and turned to face him. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm picking flowers!" Sakrua said cheerfully, shoving a fist full of cherry blossoms in front of his face so he could smell them. "Don't they smell absolutely wonderful?" Syaoran turned his face away in annoyance.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Syaoran said. "But why though?"

Sakura, not even bothering to look at him this time, continued to pick more flowers and walk faster, and then replied, "Do I need a reason to pick flowers?"

"W - w - what? Oh, n -no! I was just wondering - "

"I'm picking them for our cottage," Sakura interrupted. "As cozy and comfortable as it may seem, it needs some colour in it, don't you think? Colour to be brought in by some beautiful freshly picked cherry blossoms?"

Syaoran nodded slowly, and watched her pick some more flowers. As he watched her, he felt a strange lump appear in his stomach, and it stayed there, wobbling and throbbing...making him feel extremely awakward. This wasn't right. Sakura and himself...it wasn't...possible. They were being civil. Within the few minutes that they were speaking or walking with each other, they weren't being rude or anything! They were acting as though they with each other, wich couldn't be possible. They've hated each other since they were five years old (only God knows why). It just didn't seem normal. So, without thinking, Syoaran blurted, "Why are you acting like this?" he covered his mouth as a reaction to what he had just said.

For the second time, Sakura turned to him, with a very, very confused look on her face. She stored the flowers in the basket, and said, "Acting like what?"

"Like that!" Syaoran said, pointing at her. "Like we're...friends! There you are just picking your flowers, singing your songs, and acting like you don't have a problem walking with me. It's weird!"

Sakura wheeled around and continued to walk. "I only insult you when I feel like it. When I don't feel right...like...when either of us do something really stupid. But don't be mistaken Li, I still hate you with a firey passion."

Syaoran smiled. Now _that_ was normal. "Also," Sakura continued, walking faster with Syaorna jogging to keep up with her, "Our parents obviously want us to get along, don't they? Why else would they have forced us to live with each other? So I can marry you? I doubt it." she added with a sarcastic raising of an eyebrow.

Syaoran snorted, and was at her side now. "You've made a good point, Kinomoto. Surprisingly, you're not so stupid as I thought you were,"

Sakura smirked. "I would insult you for the stupid, ugly, monsterous, evil brute that you truly are, but we've just entered the village, and as you might have noticed, we have too much shopping to do to actually have time to have a proper arguement. Come on!" Sakura said with a grin on her face, and took hold of Syaoran's wrist. Sakura was now running into every shop with Syaoran's wrist tightly in her hand.

Syaoran was so caught up with the weird feeling in his stomach that he had hardly noticed that Sakura and himself had entered the noisy rustle and bustle of the village. Children were playing on the crowded streets with their jump ropes and their tiny balls passing it back and forth. Adults were hard at work, making food for their children with other adults, all the while having a good time. The village was filled with laughter of the children and the adults - Syaoran and Sakura had never seen such a happier sight. Of course they had visited the village before, but that was with the company of their parents. They never had the chance to look at what the village for what it truly was - one of the most civilized places there were.

Two hours had passed, and Sakura's basket was filled with flower vases, home clothing for Syaoran and herself. Clothes in which Syaoran spent at least thirty long minutes standing with his arms spread wide so the woman could finish measuring him. It was also filled with food supplies. Sakura had bought sugar, eggs, bread, jam, meat, and enough spices to last them a lifetime. They both had bought so much things that they had to buy two more baskets to carry everything else! Yes, Sakura was a shopping freak.

"Oooh! Look at this, Li! This clock would be lovely in our cottage!" Sakura shrieked, patting him on his back trying to get his attention. Two hours and thirty minutes had now passed. Syaoran yawned, and rubbed his forehead. They had done enough shopping for one day. Three baskets to carry back to the cottage was enough.

"Yeah, it looks great, whatever. Listen, don't you think we should head back?" Syaoran said, in an exhausted tone of voice.

Sakura whined. "Awww!" But Syaoran gave her his famous pleading look, and Sakura couldn't possibly say no to that. "Fine. But haven't you noticed that it's noon already?" Sakura said, pointing to the sun.

"No, really? I haven't noticed it all!" Syaoran said sarcastically.

"We'll go home straight away - but we have to eat something first!" Sakura said, dragging him into a tiny booth where a man was selling sandwhiches.

Sakura handed the man five dollars, and in turn received two sandwhiches. "Eat up, Li! We can eat this on the way home," Sakura said, taking a mouthful of her sandwhich.

"Easy for you to say," Syaoran replied, struggling with the two heavy baskets. "You have one basket to carry! And it's the lightest one!" He tucked the sandwhich away in one of the baskets. He couldn't balance carrying two, and eating at the same time.

Sakura smirked once more. She kicked Syaoran in the leg just to annoy him, and he glared at her in return. "Toughen up, Li! I thought you were stronger than that!" Sakura taunted, walking ahead of him towards the cabin.

"Ha, ha...very funny, Kinomoto." Syaoran said, staggering all the way back.

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**Consider it my New Year's gift :).**

**Wishing You A Safe And Enjoyable New Year,**  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	6. A Hunting We Will Go!

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura isn't mine, thanks :)

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated thoughts  
-...- - scene change/flashback

Now...on with chapter six!

**A Hunting We Will Go!**

Sakura crawled up from underneath the wooden table that she had just been scrubbing clean, and hastily brushed her hands off. She looked around the room, and a satified smile spread across her face.

All day long after breakfast, she had been working. Scrubbing table tops, washing and re-washing the ancient cutlery that her father and Syaoran's mother had supplied them with, sweeping the floors, cleaning the bath tub, adding furniture she had ordered from the market place into the living room, and washing the bed sheets, her clothes, and Syaoran's clothes in the lake. You'd think she was a waitress at a modern-day restaraunt!

Although Sakura had a fair few things to accomplish inside the house, Syaoran was in charge of the outside. He had been cutting the grass, removing weeds and other unwanted plants growing from their front lawn, sweeping the porch, shining the old rocking chair, and washing the hammock sheet by himself since Sakura had enough laundry to be done.

Sakura, deciding that she needed some fresh air, walked outside onto the porch, where she took a seat on the old rocking chair. She was dirty, dusty and sweaty...some fresh air would probably have done her some good. Why did July have to be such a hot month?

She began to rock back and forth on the rocking chair. She fingered the arms of the chair with her index finger, and noticed that Syaoran did quite a good job of cleaning it. Speaking of which, she hadn't even noticed him cross the front lawn and began to pull weeds out. He looked quite tired, and yet he didn't seem to have any sweat on him - and HE was working on the outside.

Sakura smirked. He _obviously_ wasn't doing enough work. That just went to show that she was a harder worker than him. "How's it going?" Sakura asked, with the smirk still on her face.

Syaoran looked up from his work, and bent down on his knees. "It's going...well. I'm kind of tired." He said awakardly, rubbing his back with his hand. "I've been picking weeds and cutting grass since morning!"

Sakura still thought he wasn't working hard enough. He didn't look sweaty at all...how could he have been working that hard and not get a single bead of sweat appear on his shirt? "Well..." Sakura said, getting up from the rocking chair and walking down the three wooden steps which lead the way onto the freshly cut grass. "I don't see the fruits of _your_ labour!"

Sakura lifted her arms and spread them apart, showing him how dirty and dusty she was. Syaoran smirked, and placed his hands on his shirt. It seemed like he was going to...

"What are you doing?" Sakura shrieked, covering her eyes. "Don't take your shirt off!"

She heard Syaoran let out a low chuckle. "Come on, Kinomoto. Don't be so immature. You've seen a man's chest before, haven't you?" he asked, his shirt now fully off.

Sakura slowly lowered her hands, and took a peek at his chest through one eye. Though she only opened one eye, she could clearly see his masculine, well built - sweaty six pack. She couldn't help but open the other eye, and stare stupidly at his chest (for only God knows how long) like they were something she'd never seen before.

"Well?" Syaoran said, suddenly breaking her "trance".

Sakura snapped her head up rather quickly, and stammered, "W - W - What?"

"Satisfied?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'satisfied'?" Sakura asked. "For your information, I wasn't goggling at your well-built manly chest because I thought it was some kind of eye-candy! I -"

"Woah, slow down, Kinomoto! I only meant to ask you if you had seen 'the fruits of my labour' yet," he said, lifting his hands up near his head as a sign that he had meant no harm.

Sakura's cheek flushed with embarassment. "I - I - I knew that of course!" She said, crossing her arms, and turning her attention on the wall. The sun had sunken so low, that she was able to see Syaoran's shadow on the wall. They obviously had worked so hard that they hadn't noticed the time passing by. It was nearly dinner time, and neither of them had anything to eat.

Looking at his shadow, Sakura saw him put his shirt back on. She turned back around, and said, "So, what are we going to have for dinner tonight?"

Syaoran raised one eye brow as if he were confused. "I thought you had already made it?" he said, walking past her and into the cottage. Sakura trailed behind him towards the sink where Syaoran began to wash his filthy hands, Sakura following suit. "You _did_ prepare our dinner though, didn't you?" he asked, drying his hands on a piece of cloth.

"No..." Sakura replied.

Syaoran sighed in annoyance. He'd thought he heard her say specifically that she was in control of dinner, and that she had already made it. But Sakura seemed to think otherwise. "You said that you were in control of dinner and that you would make it!" Sakura said, totally thinking the opposite of what he had in mind.

"I did not!" He replied, now angry that he had no dinner for the second night in a row.

"Well I never said that _I_ had it in control and that _I_ was going to make it!" Sakura bellowed, her stomach rumbling with hunger.

Syaoran sighed again. They were never going to stop arguing and their living arrangements just weren't going to work. How - _how_ could their parents _possibly_ have let them live together?

Syaoran grabbed his coat along with his bow and arrow which were lying on the floor, and Sakura followed him outside. "Where are you going?" She asked, trailing close behind him into the forest. "You can't go into the forest at this time! All the wild animals are out during night time!"

"Exactly," Syaoran replied, ignoring Sakura's cries of protest.

"B - B - But...what if something happens to you? What am I suppose to tell your mother and _my_ father? Look, Syaoran, you don't have to go hunting! I'll just make us some sandwhiches or something! You can go hunting _tomorrow!_" Sakura said, tugging his arm as best she could back into the cottage, but with no avail.

"Sakura, come with me if you want - I don't care. But I'm hungry and I will _not_ go without dinner for the second night in a row! Besides, it's not like I've never hunted before. I'm a big boy, Sakura. I can take care of myself!" he said, wrenching his arm out of Sakura's grasp.

"FINE! I _will_ come!" Sakura said, following him into the now very dark forest, and quickly grabbing a lantern sitting on the porch.

Minutes passed, and to Sakura, it seemed like an hour for each minute. She hated going out at night...especially into a forest with wild animals lurking about...ready to attack at any given and unprepared moment! She whimpered loudly, and Syaoran quickly turned around with a finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet.

"You know," she hissed with anger. "This never would have happened if _someone_ never ate all the meat!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I wasn't the _only_ one that ate the meat! If I remember correctly, you ate half of it too!"

"Ugh, whatever. Just find something to hunt and let's get a move on!" Sakura said, accidentally stepping on a twig.

At that moment, Syaoran whipped around, and covered her mouth with his hand. Sakura tried to ask him what in bloody hell he was doing, but all her sentences turned out to be nothing but muffled cries. "Shh!" Syaoran said fiercely. He was staring at something behind her with a concentrated look on his face.

Sakura kept still. She had comepletely frozen. She heard a ruffle in the bushes behind her, and she could tell that an animal was somewhere very, very near her.

Syaoran pulled her face very close to his. She could feel his breath on his cheeks and she felt something that wasn't really fear...

"Stay here," he instructed. "Do _not_ go anywhere. I'm going to go look for it," he said.

Sakura nodded numbly, not sure of what else she could do. She _would've_ told Syaoran to stay, and that it wasn't worth getting hurt just for a proper dinner - but she couldn't. She was so nervous...her brain seemed to be out of order at the moment. And so, she made what she thought was a huge mistake, and let Syaoran set off for the animal - alone.

She stared as Syaoran left her behind, and soon she could see nothing else. Only the ghostly trees swaying spookily every way. She drew in her breath loudly, and held it. She was so numb. It was her first time hunting, and she had no idea what to do. It finally kicked into her that she should be out there, helping Syaoran hunt the animal when she heard a strained cry.

"Oh no," she said out loud. "That could've been Syaoran!" she said, breaking into a sprint further and further into the forest. "Syaoran? Syaoran? Syaoran! Where are you? Are you ok - ? "

Her sentence was cut off short. Something had splattered her face...something sticky...gooey...what could it be? She put her hand up to her face, and touched it...the first thing that came to her mind was...blood.

"_AHHHH!_" Sakura shrieked, as loud as she possibly could, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Syaoran...she thought. Syaoran! She had to find Syaoran! So without hesitation, she changed direction, and began to look for Syaoran still scared for her life. What if that strained cry was him? What if he'd been killed by the animal?

Tears threatening to fall from her face, she shouted his name over and over again. She didn't even know where in bloody hell she was going. She just ran and screamed his name louder and louder each time, hoping that she would get a reply. Suddenly, Sakura's wrist was caught in something. She knew it was a hand, though. It had to be a hand...but this hand wasn't like Syaoran's soft ones...they were rough and splotchy...and they had sharp nails...The first thing that came to Sakura's mind was...

The animal!

She struggled against it's rough hands, but it wouldn't let go. "Let go, beast!" She cried. But then she heard something...like...Syaoran's chuckle.

"S - S - Syaoran?" Sakura spluttered.

"Sakura, you enormous baby!" Syaoran guffawed. He was holding Sakura's wrist, and his free hand was patting his stomach heartily, as if trying to make him stop laughing. What on _earth_ was he laughing about? He should've heard her scream! Wasn't he scared of the monster also?

"S - S - Syaoran! T - The animal! I - I - It attacked you! B - B - B - Blood! It's on my f - f - face! Y - Your blood!" Sakura stuttered, shaking as if she were naked in the middle of winter. "I h - heard you s - s - scream! A - A - And the animal h-had hold of m - my wr -wrist! S - Syaoran? S - S - Stop...stop laughing!" Sakura screamed.

"That was _me_ Sakura!" Syaoran said, letting go of her wrist, and Sakura felt the sudden urge to scratch it.

Syaoran's laughter was like the howl of a wolf. Low and loud. If he didn't stop laughing soon, Sakura thought he'd die of laughter! "I knew you'd fall for it! I threw that tomato on your face...and knowing how gullible you are, you'd probably think it was blood! _Ha!_"

Sakura with her eyes round as coins, asked, "B - B - But...You screamed! A - And your hand felt weird - " But Sakura cut her sentence short...her wrist was so itchy! She couldn't help it, and began to scratch it.

Syaoran stopped laughing and frowned. "Oh yeah...when you heard me scream...I actually did it on purpose...see, I touched Poison Ivy by accident...and that's why my hand felt so rough and splotchy. Hey! Your wrist looks like it's on fire...and so does mine...that's weird. You didn't happen to touch Poison Ivy yourself did you, Saku -? Holy smokes, I did that?" Syaoran said, noticing the glare that had formed on Sakura's face just after he had told her he touched Poison Ivy.

His laughter began to grow louder and louder, and with every chuckle Sakura's anger began to rise. She shrieked louder than she had meant to, and hit his arm in a girly fashion. "SYAORAN LI! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SCARED ME?" She shrieked. She had meant to make him feel guilty, but all she did was give him a reason to laugh even more.

Feeling that she couldn't get him to feel guilty in his state of laughter, she stomped back towards the cabin, yelling behind her back, "You can starve for all I care, Syaoran Li! IT SERVES YOU RIGHT!"

But yet again, Syaoran's laughter grew, only because he did happen to catch 'the animal'. He had caught a stray rabbit that had just so happened to wander in his path. And to Sakura's disappointment, he had no trouble hunting down the rabbit, and left with not even a scratch on his arm towards the cabin. Well...it was a rabbit! How hard of a fight could it have been?

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**Falalala, review please:)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	7. Meeting Sophie

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own zilch! The plot is mine and that's basically it. OH YEAH, and Sophie :).

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
- ... - - scene change/flashback

Now...on with chapter seven!

**Meeting Sophie **

It had been exactly just one day since Sakura and Syaoran had gone hunting. It was quite early in the morning, and Sakura awoke with a grunt, and a bandaged wrist. She scrunched up her nose, and rubbed her eyes, and although she would usually have a smile on her face in the morning, she had on a frown.

"Grr..." Sakura growled.

She got up from bed, and saw that Syaoran wasn't in his. She slowly walked up to his bed, and kicked it furiously, and earned nothing but a huge pain in her toe. She gave out a painful cry, and limped all the way into the bathroom, stopping at one part of the hall, and kicking it with her other foot, just not as hard.

After she had gone to the bathroom, she walked back into her bedroom and changed into proper home clothing. Then she walked into the kitchen where she saw Syaoran with a tired look on his face, and a bandaged arm cooking breakfast. Syaoran heard her come in, and smiled weakly at her. "Good morning," he said very cautiously, afraid that if he said anything wrong, Sakura would blow into a million pieces.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Sakura growled, walking up to him and kicking him in the shins.

"OW!" Syaoran shrieked in reply, and rubbed his shin feverishly hoping the pain would go away. "Do you have to do that every morning? I said I was sorry!" Syaoran said, his face scrunched up making everything look wrinkly.

"YES, I have to do that every morning! It's all your fault that my wrist is like this! You're just lucky that our parents allowed us to go back to the castle incase of any emergency!" Sakura replied angrily stomping her way to her seat. Apparently it seemed as though when she was kicking Syaoran's bed and the wall, she was practicing for when she approached the real thing.

"Kinomoto, I'm already making breakfast, lunch, dinner, your bed, and cleaning the house for the next three days! Don't you think that that's enough for you to forgive me?"

Sakura snorted and stuck her nose up high in the air. "No, Sir! The only reason you're doing all that is because your Mother forced you to! Just like she forced us to live with each other! If she hadn't told you to do all this, you probably would let me do everything even if I had a bandaged wrist! Also because this Poison Ivy stuff will wear off in those amount of days," Sakura finished, sticking her nose out of the air to smell the eggs. "Mmm..." she breathed.

"Hey! I have much more damage done to me than you! Why should my mother let you do nothing while I'm here doing all the dirty work?"

"Well after you almost scared me to death, your mother and I seemed to think you deserved it."

Syaoran sighed heavily and continued making the breakfast. He knew he was never going to convince Sakura to get her to forgive him. Why did he care so much in the first place? He didn't seem to know. There was a weird feeling in Syaoran's stomach, ever since he had accidentally planted the Poison Ivy onto Sakura's wrist. It had started in his chest, and dived down, deep into his stomach, throbbing wildly everytime Sakura shot him an angry look from across the room. Maybe it was fear? Or a different feeling that Syaoran didn't want to identify?

He looked at Sakura from where he was standing, and studied her posture. She was sitting upright on the kitchen chair, trying to get an even greater whiff of the eggs than she had sniffed last time. Syaoran would've laughed because she looked so funny. The way her nose scrunched up, and the way her nostrels went small when she tried to smell the eggs again. But he didnt. If Sakura even heard the tiniest giggle erupt from Syaoran's mouth, she'd smack his arm as hard as she could, and probably start yelling at him at how he shouldn't be laughing since they both had Poison Ivy.

"Well..." Syaoran began, serving the now finished and boiled egg onto Sakura's plate, "Your father and my mother seem to think that we can't accomplish very much if we have our arms and wrists the way they are...So, they're sending over some hired help,"

Sakura shrivelled around to face him, and put on a confused look. "What do you mean, 'we'?" she asked. "_You're_ the one that'll be doing all the house work for the next three days. You don't need any help!"

"Yes I do!" Syaoran protested, taking a seat across from Sakura. "Why do you care anyway? You're not the one that'll be doing any house work. Don't you think I deserve just a little bit of help?"

Almost choking on one of her eggs, Sakura burst into a fit of laughter, rocking back and forth on her chair. "Yeah, right!" she said, finally gaining control of herself. "It's all your fault we're like this anyway. You should pay for your own crimes," Sakura stated.

Syaoran glared at her, and walked into the kitchen area. He leaned on one side of the table, and folded his arms. "Hmmm," he grumbled with an annoyed look on his face. " 'Pay for your own crimes...' hmph. Whoever said getting the Princess of Japan's wrist covered in Poison Ivy was a crime must've been really full of themselves,"

Then there was a knock on the door. Both Syaoran and Sakura walked into thel living room area, where the only door into the cottage was. Before answering the door, they both starerd at each other, as if waiting for the other to open it. "Well?" Sakura said, lifting one eyebrow. "Answer it!"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow also. "Why should I? I shouldn't - "

He was interrupted by Sakura's wrist, waving infront of his face. He understood Sakura's point, but he still didn't want to do something for Sakura that was so simple that a five year old could do. They both glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, when all of a sudden, a woman's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

"Hello...?" the woman said. "Is this the Princess Kinomoto and Prince Li residence?"

With one last glare, Syaoran opened the door only to see before him a beautiful young lady that seemed to be the same age has Sakura. She had wavy blonde hair that reached her shoulders, and stunning forget-me-not blue eyes. She was holding a brown basket in her arms, and was wearing a beige corsette top, and a skirt that was slightly lighter than her top. She also had on a broad smile which showed the whitest teeth, and rosy pink lipstick...the kind that Sakura wore.

Unable to speak in the prescense of such beauty, Syaoran stared at her, wide eyed, and jaw dropped. The only response the young lady had for Syaoran was just to plaster the smile on even wider, and stand there, holding the brown basket firmly in her arms. Sakura however, had a much different response to her smile (which she thought was fake) than Syaoran.

"Who the heck are you?" Sakura asked angrily. She had absolutely no idea why she was so angry, but the way Syaoran was staring at the young beauty got Sakura up to boiling point.

Amazingly, as though the young girl's smile could never falter, she widened her grin, even though Sakura had used such rude words infront of her. "I'm Sophie!" She said cheerfully. "I was the one sent from your father, King Kinomoto, and your mother, Queen Li, as hired help!" she said, nodding to both Syaoran and Sakura.

By this time, Sakura had managed to get Syaoran to stop staring so rudely, and begin to start acting like his weird self again. "I - I - I'm Syaoran," Syaoran spluttered, sticking his hand out. The young lady, of whose name she said was Sophie, took it generously, and shook it gently. "Hello Mr. Li!" she greeted.

Sakura had a scowl on her face, and had her arms folded across her chest. She was biting her lip for some apparent reason, and said, "I'm Sakura," she said quite rudely.

Syaoran, obviously very glad that they had such beautiful hired help, pushed Sakura aside, as if she were a piece of furniture, and took Sophie's hand, guiding her into the living room. Sakura, after just being pushed, had her jaw almost reaching down to the floor. She had never seen Syaoran act in such a way infront of a woman like that. He's never pushed her either...not since they were five years old. But she didn't care about that. They were really young. Immaturity had gotten the best of them...but pushing her now! Just to invite that girl inside their cottage? Sakura was absolutely furious about that.

By the time Sakura had reached the sofa on which Syaoran and Sophie were sitting on, Sophie had opened the brown basket, revealing home-made sandwhiches, fruits, cooking ingredients, and house work tools. She was also talking to Syaoran in a mannered way, smiling. No matter what comment was made, she kept a smile on.

"Tell me about yourself!" Syaoran began, looking like a six year old boy getting ready to open up a brand new birthday present.

Sophie switched from a "I'm so happy to be here!" kind of smile, to a "Aww, I'm too shy." kind of smile. But she talked about herself nonetheless, and put on a new smile. A smile that looked like "Aww, I'm too shy, but I love talking about myself, anyway!" Heck, she had so many different kinds of smiles than Sakura did shoes!

Sakura watched the two chatter away, looking happy. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel jealous. The way Sophie's blonde hair whipped the other way whenever she turned her head...the way she never, ever stopped smiling. Sakura just couldn't take it anymore! Syaoran was listening to her, as if he was so fascinated about all the things she had to say...but Sakura knew him better than that. He loved they way she looked...and she didn't blame him either. Sophie was a sight to see! But anyone that looked closely enough could see the true beauty sitting in the living room...the one sitting silently, watching the others...the true beauty feeling jealous and angry at the same time.

Not being able to bare anymore smiles so bright that it could blind someone, Sakura made her way out of the living room, and went into the kitchen, which was where she continued to fume.

Sakura didn't like that Sophie girl at all! She had no idea why though...maybe it was her fake smiles. Her cheerful comments? Whatever it was, Sakura hated it. Even though she only met Sophie a few minutes ago, and only new her first name, Sakura still hated her. She could see right through her fake smiles and cheerful comments. Really! No one smiled that much, and actually meant it. No way!

Basically, if you add up way too cheerful comments, and smiles that never, _ever_ fade, you get one angry Sakura, and Sophie. Actually, a better way to say that would be Sophie plus Sakura, equals to Sophie just being Sophie, and Sakura, hating Sophie. Yup. That summed it all up.

Sakura hated Sophie.

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**Flames don't set me on fire. Feel free to insult my story! HAHA.**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	8. Officially Hating Her

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Falala, CCS isn't mine.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

**Officially Hating Her **

Sakura sat quietly on her bed, her hands folded in her lap, and she began to breathe very slowly. It was a brand new day, and Sophie was back again, helping around the house, and following Syaoran like a little puppy dog everywhere. It was working the other way around also.

_She leaves the day after tomorrow,_ Sakura thought, over and over again in her head.

Not only was she thinking that in her head, but she was also re-considering Sophie. Maybe she didn't really hate her...Sakura was not one to judge people so quickly. So, she decided that she didn't actually _hate_ Sophie...maybe her smiles weren't as fake as she thought they were. So...instead she said she "disliked" her for the moment...and if Sophie did anything wrong, or something to upset her, that would be the time that she would decide to officially hate Sophie.

But...hadn't Sophie done something to upset Sakura already? Like the other day, when she had smiled like a mindless idiot, and stole all the attention directed to Sakura from Syaoran, all the way to herself...didn't she upset Sakura then? Sakura thought on this, and decided that it was just that same feeling she always got when Syaoran was with a girl. A feeling of disgust, and anger, because she knew what Syaoran was obviously going to do. Everyone knew that Syaoran was a big time heartbreaker. This girl was no different from the others to him...So Sakura pushed the feeling back far, far into her head, not knowing that it would erupt from her like steaming hot lava from a volcano.

Gaining enough sanity to go back into the yard with Syaoran and Sophie, she picked up some gardening tools to help them with, (even though she obviously didn't need to do any work,) and made her way onto the porch, where she saw Syaoran and Sophie, laughing and smiling.

Sakura smiled also, and began laughing too. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she hated the feeling of being left out. "So...what are we laughing about?" she asked uneasily.

Sophie turned her head. "Oh, well, Syaoran just told me this really funny joke - "

" - He let you call him Syaoran?" Sakura asked, unable to believe what had just reached her ears.

Syaoran stepped into the conversation. "Of course I did. Is there a problem with that?"

Sakura shook her head, and put on a weak smile. "Um...of course not. Not a thing," she answered, and stepped onto the lawn to where the two were standing. Syaoran had never let a girl call him by his first name that quickly. Of course, Sakura called him by his first name once in a while, but they weren't exactly on a first name basis.

"Err...I was just wondering if you two needed any help gardening - " and then she took a look at the grass, and saw that it was very clean cut, and they had already made a perfectly good flower bed. "...I guess not," she finished.

Sophie smiled one of her various smiles. "Well, Syaoran and I are going into town to get some supplies," she said, taking hold of Syaoran's hand, and walking down the path that lend into town. Sakura ran to keep up with them, not letting Sophie get another minute alone with Syaoran.

"Could I come?" Sakura asked eagerly.

Syaoran's face twisted, and he kind of gave off a weird smile...as if trying his hardest not to upset Sakura. "Actually...Err...this is kind of like a two person thing, you know?" he said, tugging on Sophie's hand.

"...Since when did going into town become a two person thing?" she asked, staring at the both of them.

She stared at Syaoran the hardest. She saw that he was trying his best to explain that he wanted to be alone with Sophie...So Sakura made it easy for him. "Err...nevermind. I'll just stay home, and...do some house work,"

Syaoran sighed a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't need to make up any more excuses just to be alone with Sophie. So, they walked along the trail towards town, and began to chatter away. Sakura watched them, and stayed in her spot, long after they had gone out of sight.

Sakura sighed also. "Now what am I going to do?" she said to herself, sitting on the old rocking chair. Her elbows were on her knees, and her hands were cupping her face...No doubt, she was really bored. She had nothing else to do. No chores, no Syaoran to bug...all she could do was think, and that was the last thing she wanted to be doing. She couldn't bare the thought of Syaoran and Sophie together, having a grand time in the village.

"Wait a second!" Sakura said into the thin air, standing up with a marvelous look on her face. An idea had struck her, smack dab in the middle of her forehead. "I know what I'll do!" she continued. "I'll go into the village with them...no...not with them! I'll...I'll...stay hidden! That's it! I'll hide, and try and stop them from having a good time! Aha! Sakura, you genius, you!" she said, scampering along the trail.

Stopping to hide behind a bush every once in a while, Sakura caught up with them, making sure she was within shadow distance.

"So..." she heard Sophie say rather shyly. "A - Are you and Princess Sakura...err..." she did not continue.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at this. What did Sophie possibly mean?

"Are me and Kinomoto…what?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"Well…are you and Kinomoto...together?" she finished.

Syaoran began to laugh. Sakura however, began to fume from where she was. If her anger was actually turned into fire, she'd set the whole forest ablaze. Why was it so funny for Syaoran to think that they could possibly be together? It was an insane idea when she thought about it...but you never know. It could happen. Ha! What could she possibly be thinking? There wasn't a chance in the world that she could ever be the girlfriend...or even the wife of Syaoran Li!

"Of course we're not together! We're the farthest _thing_ from together!" Syaoran answered.

Sophie put on a confused face. "But I thought you two...but...you're living together! I thought that most people who live together - "

"Some people think wrong," Syaoran interrupted. Realizing what he had just said, he corrected himself, "B - But not you! I mean, some people think wrong, but...err -"

Sophie giggled, and took hold of Syaoran's hand. "Don't worry about it," she replied, looking deeply, and longingly into Syaoran's intense amber eyes. Syaoran looked back into her clear blue ones. They were both in a trance.

_Oh no,_ Sakura thought. _I have to break this up!_

Sakura quickly thought up an idea. She quietly walked over beside a big boulder rock, and hid behind it. She picked up a tiny pebble, and a moment before throwing it, she held it close to her, and whispered, "This one's for you, Sophie!" and chucked it as hard as she could.

"OW!" Sophie cried, grabbing hear arm in pain. "Something hit me!" She said.

Syaoran snapped out of his trance, and said, "Hold on, Sophie. I'll find what did that."

Hearing that, Sakura ran further into the forest, hoping Syaoran wouldn't find her. She could hear his footsteps, stepping on and breaking twigs. This was a big tool for hiding herself. If she knew or heard where Syaoran was, she'd get a better idea on where to hide, which is exactly what she had. Hearing his footsteps, Sakura could tell he was gaining on her. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, and finally she hit a dead end in the forest. "Oh no," Sakura whispered. She needed a hiding place - quick!

Finding one, she hid there, praying that Syaoran wouldn't be able to find her.

"Hello?" She heard Syaoran's voice. "Is anyone here?"

Syaoran stepped into view. He walked towards a certain part of that part of forest, and carefully examined it. It seemed like forever until he left, with narrowed eyes and suspicousness still lingering on him.

"Phew," Sakura said, and came out of hiding. She followed Syaoran as quietly as she could, and they both had reached Sophie once more.

"Did you find who threw that at me?" Sophie asked, pointing at the rock as if it were poison.

"No, I didn't," Syaoran answered. "But it won't happen again. Don't worry,"

Sophie threw her arms around his neck, and cried. "Oh, Syaoran! I was so scared!"

Sakura, carefully hidden in the bushes, had reached boiling point once more. "Drama Queen!" she hissed.

Suddenly, Sophie's face snapped up, and she began to scan the part where Sakura was hiding with her eyes, only to reveal she wasn't even crying at all! From where Sakura was, she couldn't see a single tear! Aha! She knew that girl was fake!

With narrowed eyes, she buried her head into Syaoran's shoulder once more, and began to fake cry again. "Oh, Syaoran! Take care of me," she said, pretending to wipe a tear from her face with the back of her hand.

"Don't worry, Sophie," Syaoran replied, taking hold of her hand and leading her into the village. "You're safe in my hands,"

And so they were off into the village. Sakura would've began to follow the minute they set off, but while holding Syaoran's hand, Sophie had whipped her head around, still with narrowed eyes so that they looked like slits. Once she had turned her head, Sakura followed them again. She could see that they were headed towards the fabric store...but why though? They didn't need any materials to make clothes.

"Come on, Syaoran!" Sophie said happily, dragging him into the fabric store. "Let's get your sizes!"

"My sizes?" Syaoran questioned. "I don't need any fabric for my clothes - "

"Don't be silly! Everyone wants some new clothes once in a while don't they?" Sophie asked, plastering on an irresistable look onto her face. Something that no man could ever turn down.

Syaoran smiled weakly. "Err...yeah," he agreed.

Sakura watched Sophie introduce him to the lady selling the fabric. It seemed like they were friends.

"Let's get your sizes, shall we?" the lady asked, getting out some measuring tape.

"S - Sure," Syaoran stuttered, lifting his arms from his sides so the lady could do her job easier. But instead of her putting the tape around his body, Sophie laughed, and prevented the women from wrapping the measuring tape onto his body.

"Oh, silly! You need to take off your shirt first!" Sophie said.

Hiding behind a rack of different coloured fabrics, Sakura's jaw dropped. "Liar!" she whispered. "You don't need to take your shirt off to get your sizes!" she said seethingly.

But Syaoran shrugged, and took off his shirt, revealing his buff body. Now, it was Sophie's turn for her jaw to drop. She glued her forget-me-not blue eyes onto his body, as if she never wanted to take her eyes off of him for one second

_Aha!_ Sakura thought. _You just want to check him out!_ She continued to watch her marvel at Syaoran's buff body. "Disgusting piece of..." Sakura whispered, not being rude enough to finish her sentence.

Once again, Sophie's head snapped around, and stared hard at the rack of fabrics of which Sakura was hiding behind. Sakura held her breath. It was so weird...it was as if Sophie could see right through the fabrics, and Sakura herself, and see right into her soul...her piercing blue eyes were nothing to forget.

"...Is there something wrong?" Syaoran asked, snapping his fingers infront of Sophie's face.

"Oh. No," Sophie answered, realizing that the lady had already finished taking Syaoran's sizes, and he had already put his clothes back on. "I thought I just saw...something," she finished.

"Well, whatever you thought you saw, I'm sure it was just your imagination," Syaoran said, getting the bag of fabrics he had just bought from the lady, and dragged Sophie out of the store, even though her eyes were still transfixed upon Sakura's hiding spot.

After making sure that the coast was clear, Sakura got up, and dusted herself off. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. "May I help you?" the voice said.

Sakura whipped around, and saw the lady that took Syaoran's sizes standing before her. "O - Oh, no!" Sakura answered, and began to make her way out of the shop. But then an idea had struck her. "Actually..." she said. "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that girl that was with that man," Sakura finished, pointing to the back of Sophie and Syaoran's heads, of whom were now far away from her.

"You mean the lady that was with Prince Syaoran?" the lady asked.

Sakura nodded. _Wow,_ she thought. _I didn't know Syaoran and I were so well known around here!_

"Well, that's Sophie Lane," the lady said. "She's the daughter of one of the richest men in town - not including King Kinomoto of course," Sakura's head snapped up, hearing her last name. "Everyone knows her around here. Not that I don't respect her...but many of us think she's a...well, a gold digger. I didn't like her with Prince Syaoran...everyone in town knows that she can make any man fall for her, and we all respect Prince Syaoran, also. We don't want him getting hurt by her,"

Sakura's eyes widened. So she _was_ what she thought she was! A fake gold digger! She was only after Syaoran's money after all!

"Err...do I know you?" the woman asked. "Because you look like you're related to King Kinomoto..."

Sakura scurried out of the shop, and yelled behind her. "No! I'm nobody!"

So Sakura ran back to the cottage as fast as she could, hoping that she'd get there before Syaoran and Sophie arrived. Thinking that she was far ahead of them, she slowed her pace down. But she was wrong. She heard their voices not far behind from her, and so she quickened her pace, and began to run down the trail and onto the lawn of their cottage.

Not being able to stop herself, Sakura ran onto the porch, and fell onto the rocking chair, and a milli-second after she sat down, Sophie and Syaoran arrived.

"Hey, Kinomoto!" Syaoran said. "Were you sitting there the whole time we were gone?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "Uh...yeah. I was," she replied.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm going in the cottage to prepare us some supper," he said, leaving the two of them alone.

Sophie walked up to Sakura very slowly...the way she was walking seemed very cold...

"Listen here, Kinomoto," she began. Sakura stood up, about to begin lecturing Sophie on how she should be treated - after all, she was royalty, but Sophie beat her to it.

"I don't care if you're the Princess of Japan, or Mother Nature. I saw you. I saw you following us. So I'm here to warn you. Stay away from my Syaoran. I've already got him wrapped around my finely polished fingers. Besides, he doesn't deserve someone like you, so I'll say it one more time. Stay away," she warned.

Sakura, her mouth slightly open during her entire insult, did not hesitate to shoot back. "You know what, Sophie? You're right. Syaoran really doesn't deserve me, does he? Someone kind, respectful, polite...but then again, he doesn't deserve a lying gold digger either, does he?"

Sophie laughed. "Is that what they're all saying about me? God, the towns people _are_ as stupid as I think. Poor, _and_ stupid," she said.

At this, Sakura felt that feeling of anger and disgust once more, except even greater than before. How dare Sophie insult the towns people! After all they've been doing for the kingdom, paying taxes to her Father! If it weren't for them, she'd be living in a dump right now!

Sakura walked up to Sophie, her anger over the top. What gave her the right to say such a thing? "How dare you insult the people of this kingdom? How _dare_ you?" She hissed. "You know, your father may be one of the richest men in town, but let me remind you just in case your pretty little blonde head forgot - I'm the _Princess_, got that? The Princess. And I can put your precious dad out of business. And trust me when I say that if I ever, _ever_ hear you mutter a single word about the towns people again, I won't hesitate to do so."

Sakura could now sense a feeling of fear and anger coming from Sophie. Her face turned a bright red colour, and she was fuming almost as hard as Sakura.

"You wouldn't," she hissed back

Sakura smirked. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

Her jaw moved up and down, as if to retort, but she said nothing. "Hmph!" Was all Sophie could say, and stomp back inside the cottage to join Syaoran.

Sakura smiled, but her smile soon faded, realizing what Sophie had just done. She had upset Sakura so badly! And not only had she insulted the faithful towns people that have always been so respectful and polite to her and her father, she had also found out that Sophie was a hardcore gold digger! That was the final straw, now.

Sakura _officially_ hated Sophie.

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**What'd you think? Tell me in a review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	9. Causing Trouble

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Now...on with chapter nine!

**Causing Trouble **

Sakura woke up extra early the next day, with a big grin on her face. The Poison Ivy was beginning to wear off on both her and Syaoran, which applied to most of the happiness that was steaming out of her.

Yesterday, she had found out that Sophie was a hardcore gold digger, and the daughter of one of the richest men in town! Not only had this made Sakura glad, but she had also felt bad for Syaoran, knowing what Sophie was going to end up doing to him. She had no idea why though. He played with the heart strings of practically all the girls that he had met, (excluding herself of course,) so why on earth would she be feeling sorry for him? He deserved what he got...to get a taste of his own medecine...but for some peculiar reason, it pained Sakura to see Syaoran to wrapped around this young lady's finger, and actually believe that she liked him back.

Some people may not have known it, but when Sakura gets pained as she did, when she found out Sophie was just faking, she liked to cause trouble for that certain someone. It had happened a few years ago, when an annoying servant boy, about her age during that time, would not stop kissing her hand. She didn't mind the first time he had done it, because that's was every man did because after all, she was the Princess. But when he kept on kissing her hand constantly...like one kiss, two kiss, three kiss, four! Sakura was beginning to think that he got joy out of kissing her hand, while she was stuck with annoyance. And so, Sakura did something quite rude. Something rude enough to get her banned from going into town for a week. But I won't get into details. So, as Sophie was the one that had pained Sakura...Sakura was going to cause as much trouble as she could for the disgusting gold digger, and not reveal any of Sophie's secrets to Syaoran. Besides, what Sakura was going to do to Sophie was probably much worse than what Syaoran would do if he found out.

So Sakura got out of bed, and skipped her way into the kitchen, kicking Syaoran in the shins. Syaoran gave out a loud yelp, and rubbed his shin feverishly once again. It was true, Sakura did have to do that every morning. Only until the Poison Ivy wore off, which Syaoran hoped would be very, very soon.

Sakura began to eat her breakfast silently, until Syaoran had disturbed the peaceful quitness that lingered in the kitchen area. "What are you planning on doing today?" he asked her, as if he was interested.

Sakura looked at him weird. Her eye brows were both raised, and her mouth was slightly open. Did she hear him correctly? Did he really just ask her what she was planning on doing today in an interested voice? He had never asked her such a question in that tone. He was never interested in what she had to do for the day. But he had asked her that one question when they were seven years old...but he had only asked her that so he would have an idea of where should be at all times...so he could spend time alone with the maid he had ... a crush on.

Did that mean he wanted an idea of where Sakura would be going so he could spend more time with Sophie? Oh no, no, no, no, no! Sakura wasn't going to give that away so easily! She was going to make sure she stuck around with them, causing every bit of chaos for Sophie she possible could.

"Um...I'm not sure. Why?" Sakura said.

Syaoran kind of looked upset about her not saying anything about her plans that she had set for the day, but he answered, "Just wondering,"

Sakura nodded, and continued chewing on her breakfast, trying to eat it as fast as she possibly could, so she could have enough time to set things up before Sophie arrived. But, she obviously wasn't chewing fast enough, because a knock had come from the door, and seeing as how Syaoran practically bolted from his seat to the door, Sakura could almost garauntee that it was Sophie.

Ding, ding, ding! Sakura was right.

Syaoran lead the way into the kitchen, where Sakura was still chewing on her breakfast rather harshly. Syaoran stared at them for a while, noticing the weird tension between them. "Uh...aren't you two going to say hi to each other?" he asked.

Sakura and Sophie smiled at each other, and greeted the other, fakeness and disgust dripping from each word that they said to each other.

For some reason, they didn't even bother to bad mouth each other infront of Syaoran. It was that weird thing about girls. They can still hate each other with every last bit of strength that they have, but at the same time, they can still be very polite and respectul to the other...in a fake way.

And then it hit her. Sakura had the most perfect plan to start causing trouble for Sophie! So as quickly as Sakura could, she kept a certain piece of the egg underneath her tongue, and began to make coughing noises. Her hands flew to her throat, and it looked as if Sakura was trying to choke herself.

"...Kinomoto?" Syaoran said uneasily, inching closer towards her as if she were a rocket, getting ready to blast off any minute. "Kinomoto, are you okay?"

With the piece of egg still underneath her tongue, and not clogging her throat at all, Sakura held her breath, giving the skin on her face a purple colour. It looked like she had been beaten quite hard.

Terrified, and deceived by Sakura's brilliant acting skills, Sophie had cried out in fear, "Oh my gosh, Syaoran! She's choking!"

Syaoran quickly went up behind Sakura and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and held both of his hands on top of her belly button. "I knew she was eating that egg too quickly!" he said, and began to perform the heimlich manoeuvre on her.

Once again, Sakura began to make weird gargling, and coughing noises. Sakura should've won an Academy Award for that! Anyone that saw that scene probably would've been crying for Sakura to spit her food out so she could breathe again!

Syaoran, being behind Sakura could not notice anything that was being done infront of him. So, unknowingly to Syaoran, Sakura's mouth formed into an evil smile, and winked at Sophie, making Sophie look like a raging bull, ready to run her horns through Sakura. Sakura knew it was working. She knew that if Syaoran was in that position with her, Sophie would be sent over the thermometer, and up to boiling point. Even though Sophie was a gold digger, she still liked her man, well, his looks at least, and if her man was doing anything with another girl, it was "Jealousy Island" for Sophie!

Thinking that Sophie had taken enough, Sakura spit the piece of egg she was hiding from underneath her tongue, onto the kitchen floor, and began to heave like she had run a thousand miles barefoot.

"Oh -**huff**- my -**huff**- gosh! Thank you -**huff**- so -**huff**- much, Syaoran!" Sakura said, turning Syaoran around so his back was to Sophie, and flinging her arms around Syaoran's neck.

Syaoran patted her back, and unknowingly to him, Sakura had smiled maliciously towards Sophie once again, making her jealous now, more than ever. "Syaoran, I think Sakura's okay now. You can stop hugging her," Sophie said in a caring kind of voice which Sakura knew she had just used to cover her jealousy. "Really, you can stop hugging her now," Sophie repeated, when Syaoran did not heed what Sophie had said.

"But Sophie," Syaoran said, putting his arm around Sakura's shoulder. "I'm worried about Kinomoto over here! She could've died"

At that, Sophie's face had turned into the shade of Sakura's when she was pretending to choke. Not only had he held Sakura in an inproper fashion, but he had hugged her, and put his arm around her also! And now this? He was actually worried about her? Not only was this surprising to Sakura, it was surprising to Sophie.

Sophie only smiled in defeat, and stomped away onto the porch.

"Are you going to be okay, Kinomoto?" he asked, bringing her face very close to his.

Sakura stared deeply into his intense amber eyes, and couldn't help but get lost in them. She had never seen Syaoran's eyes painted so beautifully. She was just about ready to lose herself in his eyes forever, until he shook her shoulders lightly, making her find her way out of his handsome amber eyes.

"Kinomoto? Are you going to be okay?" he repeated.

Sakura's head snapped up, and said, "U - Uh, yeah! I - I - I'll be fine. We don't have to tell your Mother or my Father about this," she said, getting up and dusting off her home dress. Syaoran's head nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I agree. They'll only think we can't handle ourselves. But are you sure you're okay? I don't need to call a doctor or anything...?" Syaoran said, reaching for his coat so he could walk to the local doctor's office.

Sakura quickly took hold of his wrist, and shook her head vigorously. "N - No! Really, I'm fine," she protested, and it wasn't long until she got the best of Syaoran, and convinced him to go onto the lawn with Sophie to help plant more seeds in the flower bed.

And so Sakura was left alone in the cottage, snickering evilly to herself about some more of her evil plans so she could ruin Sophie's day, and make her stay away from Syaoran. What she had just done was just an appetizer. She was going on to do even more things to ruin Sophie's stay with them. She had to make the most of the afternoon. Why? Because after she left the cottage today, Sophie would never have to come back to the cottage ever again, because Syaoran and Sakura's Poison Ivy infected arms and wrists would be back to normal by then.

After waiting about forty-five minutes to perform her next evil plan, Sakura got up from her seat and began to prepare a nice cool drink to set outside for Sophie. Sakura knew exactly how her plan would follow through. First, she thought, she would make a disgusting glass of lemonade, but still make it look incredibly thirst quenching at the same time. The hot weather would probably make Sophie swimming in her own sweat by now because she had been working in the sun all day, so if she took one look at the glass of lemonade, she'd probably come running up to it and take a huge gulp of the disgusting lemonade. The problem that had bugged Sakura, was that what if Syaoran had gotten to it first? But she thought about it more. Syaoran had worked in the burning hot weather since he was ten years old. He could take it! It'd probably be two hours until he actually began to sweat and want a glass of water. Besides, Sophie wasn't all that though.

And so, Sakura got a clean glass from the cupboard, and filled it with lemonade that was perfectly normal tasting - for the moment. After filling the glass almost over the top, she added lots of sugar in it, making it more sweet that it should be, and salt, making it taste awfully disgusting. And then, she made the final touches to it. She took an onion, and carefully shaved three thin slices from it, making it look barely noticable. She dropped them into the lemonade, and because she had sliced them so thin, they were hardly noticable as she had intended them to be. And then, lastly, pepper. And the only thing that probably wouldn't taste terrible in thelemonade was the ice, which she added after stirring the drink with a spoon.

And so, Sakura crept quietly out onto the porch, where she saw Syaoran and Sophie hard at work.

"Hmm" Sakura whispered. "At least she's good for something," and as quietly as she could, she left thelemonade on the porch, and walked back inside the cottage staring from the window, to see the glorious moment when Sophie would take a huge gulp of the contaminated lemonade.

And just five minutes later, Sakura saw Sophie get up on her feet, seeing as how she was on her knees planting seeds on the flower bed, and wipe the sweat off of her forehead from the back of her hand. She was incredibly sweaty and tired, and then - she saw it. The lemonade, looking so good to her from where she was. The glass shimmered in the bright sunlight, and water was dripping from the sides, making it look even more delicious. Without hesitating, Sophie ran up to it, and held it with the both of her hands. She rubbed the glass against her cheeks, and her neck, loving the cool feeling of it against her skin. And then, the moment came, when she lifted the glass up to her chin, and took a huge gulp of Sakura's lemonade.

And just as quickly a she had put it in her mouth, she spat it out, making the ice-tea splatter all over the porch floor.

"EW! EW, EW, EW, _EW!_" Sophie cried, sticking her tongue out, trying to get the taste off of it with her hand. "That's the most disgusting glass of lemonade I've ever tasted!" she added, still trying to rid her mouth of the disgusting taste.

Sakura was laughing so hard inside the cottage, that she fell onto her stomach. Her face had gone red, and it sounded as if she had gone mentally ill. She was pounding the floor with her fist, and every time her fist hit the hard wooden floor, it seemed as if her laughter grew with every pound. Finally gaining control of herself, she got up, and looked out the window, where she now saw Syaoran with her, trying to get Sophie to remain calm.

"S - Sophie! Calm down!" Syaoran said, trying to restrain her. Sophie was thrashing her arms around like a five year old having a tantrum.

"No! I will not calm down! I -" And then she saw Sakura's face, staring at her through the window of the cottage.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she ducked her head. Now Sophie knew it was Sakura who had messed with the lemonade.

"Er...Nevermind," Sophie said. She did not want Sakura to get satisfaction of her whining.

Syaoran's eyes widened, seeing as how she had transformed to whining little girl, to calm and mature woman. But he just shrugged the feeling off, and walked towards the flower bed, where he continued to plant seeds.

Sakura, still trying to restrain her giggles, walked into the kitchen area, thinking of the next terrible thing she should do to Sophie. Sakura wished her hardest that she knew what Sophie's strengths and weaknesses were. If she did, then she would probably know what to do next. Maybe Sophie was afraid of spiders? Or maybe she wasn't...Sakura wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed a new idea - quick.

Thinking hard, Sakura began to wonder. She was beginning to get a little bored inside the cottage. She would probably think better if she were outside, sitting on the old rocking chair with the breeze whipping her face. It would help her a lot, and probably make her think quicker. I mean, what girl wouldn't want to sit on the rocking chair? She bet Sophie would probably want to sit on it. She - and it hit her again! Sakura ran outside, to Sophie and Syaoran, and thought up a quick excuse for them to work from behind the cottage. Syaoran agreed, as did Sophie, but she didn't leave until she thought she had glared at Sakura hard enough to burn a whole through her.

When they did, Sakura ran inside the cottage and grabbed Syaoran's tool box. She undida few of the screwsholding the old rocking chair together, and just twenty minutes later, she called them back again, insisting that they should take a break after working so hard.

"Come on, you guys!" Sakura said, taking hold of both their hands, steering them onto the porch. "I bet you guys are really tired. Don't you want a break?"

Syaoran thought about it, and agreed. "You're right, Kinomoto. I think I'll just take a seat - " he said, inching towards the old rocking chair, but Sakura grabbed his elbow, laughing nervously.

"No, no, no! Syaoran, don't you think you want a glass of water? Come on, go on inside, and I'll fix you a glass of..._lemonade_," Sakura said, emphasizing the word "lemonade" as she said it. Sophie's head snapped up at the word, and glared at Sakura once more.

Syaoran shrugged, and soon enough Sophie and Sakura were left alone on the porch. Sophie and Sakura didn't even bother saying anything to the other. They just glared at each other, well, at least one of them glared. Sakura just stared back at Sophie with a fake innocent smile, and tilted her head to one side. If she was holding a gun and someone was just murdered at that moment, no one would think it was her because of her innocent look.

"Stop looking at me like that," Sophie hissed.

Sakura's eyebrows raised, and just stopped staring at Sophie altogether. She just stood there, on the porch, staring out at the view infront of her, watching with the corners of her eyes, seeing when Sophie would possibly sit on the old rocking chair.

Minutes had passed, and Sophie still did not sit on the rocking chair. Sakura was beginning to run out of patience. She didn't even bother to watch out for Sophie anymore, so she just stared at the beautiful view, and let the peacefull sound of nature wrap themselves around her like a blanket...until she heard a big clatter, and a scream.

"AHH!" Sophie cried, now underneath a pile of wood which used to be the rocking chair. "SYAORAN!"

Syaoran burst through the cottage door, wide-eyed. He began to pull the wood off of Sophie, and helped her up, totally oblivious of what had just happened.

"What happened here?" he asked, while trying to calm Sophie down.

Sakura put on her innocent look once more, and replied. "Oh my! I'm so sorry, dear, Sophie! I guess I forgot to tell her that the rocking chair was currently out of order!" Sakura said, pretending to be shocked of what had just happened.

The threesome walked inside the cottage, and Syaoran began to tend to Sophie's bruises and cuts she had gotten because of the wood that had fallen on top, or beneath her.

Sakura began to snicker quietly to herself in the corner of the living room, complimenting herself on how perfectly genius she was. She watched as Syaoran put bandages on her, once he had finished, they all stayed inside the cottage, not wanting to go outside anymore. She sun had sunken low now, and the moon had risen up to it's highest. It was very late into the evening, until Sophie decided to leave.

Both Syaoran and Sakura walked Sophie to the door. Sakura knew she was doing something polite when walking her to the door, but she had absolutely no polite intentions when doing that. All she wanted to do was be the one to slam the door behind Sophie when she left the cottage. But, before they reached the door, Syaoran had a quick word with her, for only God knows why, and Sophie walked through the door, and stood to face the both of them.

"Well, bye, Sophie," Syaoran said.

Sakura nodded, and smiled. "Bye, Sophie. We greatly appreciate all the hard work that you have done to help us around the house, and Syaoran and myself will miss you greatly," She replied, her grasp on the door handle tightening with every word she said.

Sophie gritted her teeth, and tried her best to smile. It seemed that for once...she couldn't! Maybe her mouth muscles had finally gone bad. And then, she said, "I'm sure you will,"

And with that said,Sakura slammed the door in her face, her mouth spread into a wide grin, joyous that she never had to see that horrible gold digging girl ever again.

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**Read and Review! **

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	10. What A Surprise

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Disclaimer: I dont own anything except for the plot and new characters, such as Sophie.

**What A Surprise **

Sakura woke up with a big grin on her face. Finally, after three long days, she wouldn't have to see that horrible Sophie Lane ever again. Finally, she didn't have an itchy, bandaged wrist! Today was definitely going to be a good day for Sakura.

She got up from bed, and brushed her teeth and washed face. She scampered along the halls, so joyous that she was finally rid of Sophie and Poison Ivy. She entered the kitchen, and glided past Syaoran. Syaoran however, as if on cue, had covered his shin the minute that Sakura had walked past him. But there was no need for that, because the Poison Ivy was gone. Syaoran sighed in relief, and continued making the breakfast.

Sakura took a big whiff of whatever he was making. It smelled like toast. Ah. She didn't care. Just as long as she didn't have to hear a knock on the door, and realize that Sophie was standing just behind it, holding a brown picnic basket.

Syaoran must've noticed how happy Sakura was, because he had turned around, slid into the chair next to her, and said, "You seem really cheerful today,"

He gave themselves two pieces of toast each, and got up to the cubboard to get the strawberry jam. Once seated again, Sakura answered, "Of course! I never have to see that disgusting little sl - I mean, I never have to see that disgusting little wrist of mine again...you know...when it's bandaged,"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Okay..." he replied.

They both ate in silence for a while. The only thing they heard for a few minutes was the sound of their knives, scraping the strawberry jam onto the toast. For a minute, Sakura thought that she would hear a knock on the door, but realizing that Sophie had finally gone made her snap back to reality. It was going to take some time for Sakura to adjust to the thought of Sophie being gone. Not that that would take a long time.

"I was thinking of going into town today," Syaoran said, out of the blue. "Would you like to come with me?" he asked.

Sakura raised both her eye brows, making her look like a martian. "Me?" Sakura asked. "Me? You want _me_ to go with you into town?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, so?"

Sakura shook her head and began to eat her toast. "Oh, no reason...I was just wondering."

Syaoran nodded, and checked the time. Suddenly, he practically jumped out of his seat, and grabbed his coat, along with Sakura's. He grabbed her by the elbow so quickly she almost choked on her breakfast (for real this time), and they both had put on their coats and shoes on so quickly they could've made a world record!

Still tugging at Sakura's elbow too fast for her to keep up with, Sakura gasped, "Syaoran! What in bloody hell are you doing!" she asked, furious that she didn't get to finish eating.

Not even bothering to look back at her while saying this, he just tugged her along, and replied, "It's a surprise."

Sakura thought on this for a while. Syaoran had a surprise for her. That wasn't good. So, not intentionally, Sakura stopped abruptly, making Syaoran stop also. He tried tugging at her elbow some more, but she wouldn't budge.

"Kinomoto," Syaoran said. "What are you doing?"

"Li..." Sakura said very cautiously. "I don't like your surprises..."

"What?" Syaoran asked. "My surprises are great!" he said.

Sakura folded her arms across her chest, and raised an eye brow. "Oh really?" she said. "What about that time when we were fifteen years old? You set me up on a blind date. I asked who I was going to be meeting. You said it was a surprise! I ended up spending two whole hours with Groping-Gary! When we were twelve, you took me on a trip, and told me it was a surprise for where we were going. You blind folded me and told me we were at the lake. You pushed me in a puddle of MUD! When we were eight, you prepared me dinner as a surprise, and you shoved a caterpillar in my mouth! Do you want me to go on?" Sakura said.

She looked over to Syaoran, where he was reminiscing. He had a smile on his face, and just to show him she wasn't happy, she hit him on the arm. He snapped out of his thoughts, and grabbed her now Poison Ivy free wrist.

"Look Kinomoto, I promise you, this surprise is good!" he said convincingly, pulling at her once more. He started off on a sprint, and before Sakura could object to any of his actions, they arrived, right in the heart of the village.

With her hands on her knees, Sakura began to breathe very heavily. "Li, do you mind telling me what the bloody hell we're doing here now?"

She looked over to where Syaoran was standing. He was wearing a very wide grin, and she noticed the someone was standing behind him. He stepped out of view, and Sakura saw no one, other than Miss Sophie Lane.

Oh _shit_.

Sakura couldn't help but stare. She was so frozen at the moment, so shocked, and definitely surprised that she just couldn't think of anything to say. When she finally came to however, she totally spluttered with her words.

"S - S - Sophie!" Sakura greeted, walking towards her. "W - W - What are you doing here?"

Syaoran stepped in. "I invited her! Remember before she left, I talked to her for a while? I asked her to meet us in town! You see, you just seemed so sad that she was leaving, I thought I'd just tell her to come...if it was okay with her," Syaoran said.

"And it certainly was," Sophie said, smiling maliciously towards Sakura. To Sakura, her smile was evil - but to Syaoran, who was still totally wrapped around her bony finger, thought it was a sweet caring one.

Sometimes Sakura was a bit too much of a good actress. That had its advantages, but at the same time, it had some huge dis-advantages.

"O - O - Oh...Well, that - that's great! I - I mean, I - I...Li, can I talk to you?" Sakura spluttered.

Syaoran nodded, and Sakura walked towards him, and held his wrist very tightly. She saw him wince slightly, but not totally, and pulled him gruffly to a corner, where she thought was safe so Sophie wouldn't be able to eavesdrop. And then she began to talk to him.

"Why the hell did you bring that stupid Sophie Lane here?" Sakura hissed, hitting him on the arm like a little girl.

"What did I do?" Syaoran asked. "I thought that - "

"You thought wrong, mister! Can't you see what she's doing to you?" Sakura said. "She's using you, Li! You're a Prince! You're rich! You're good looking - "

"You think I'm good looking?" Syaoran asked, obviously trying to rub in Sakura's face that she had called him something she had never called him for the past twelve years that they've known each other.

Sakura blushed, but quickly recovered. She shook her head. "That's beside the point! Sophie's a gold digger, Li! She's a complete slut!"

Syaoran now looked at Sakura with a serious face. His arms were folded and he certainly didn't look too happy. "Listen Kinomoto, just because Sophie's a lot more caring, generous, and prettier than you, that doesn't mean you have the right to go gallovanting around, calling her names that don't suit her!" he said.

Sakura's jaw dropped. More caring? More generous? More _prettier than her?_ She certainly wasn't going to take that lying down.

"What did you just say?" She asked, her voice hoarse from shock, "You have no idea what you're talking about, Li. Those names 'don't suit her?' Li, those names fit her more than her damned outfit."

Syaoran began to walk away, steam rising from his ears."I'm not going to listen to this!" he said. Sakura pulled him back.

"Li! I can't believe you don't believe me! You've only known this girl for such a short amount of time! You grew up with me, Li. How can you - ?" she was on a roll, but was never able to finish.

He yanked his arm away from her grasp, and walked towards Sophie, where she was standing quite happily. She had obviously been watching them talk, and no one in their right minds would not know that Sakura and Syaoran were having an argument.

"You're just angry that I finally really like someone, while you're stuck being lonely! You've never had a single man in your life, Kinomoto. Don't take your loneliness or your jealousy or whatever it is your feeling out on me and Sophie." he said to Sakura from behind him.

If Sakura wasn't so angry, she would've almost started crying.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked as innocently as she possibly could, when Syaoran finally reached her.Yeck.

Syaoran shook his head, not wanting to let Sophie find out about anything. "It's nothing, Sophie. Come on, let's get some shopping done."

He took her hand, but she didn't move. "What about Sakura?" she asked, hoping deep inside that she wasn't going to come with them.

He turned to look at Sakura, her eyes filled with sadness, shock, and anger. "I don't think Sakura will be able to go with us," Syaoran answered after a long pause, and they began to walk away.

Sakura watched the two of them walk away from her, and she plomped herself down onto the dirt, feeling sad and un-believed. She couldn't believe Syaoran! Sure, they may not have been the best of friends, but he has known her for the past twelve years. They practically grew up with each other. And so he'd rather take the side of a girl he's only known for not even a week, rather than the girl he's known since forever? That was just totally obsurd.

While Sakura sat, moping at her luck, two palace gaurds had witnessed the argument that Syaoran and Sakura had just had, and they heard every word. They scurried off back to the Palace to report immediately to King Kinomoto and Queen Li, who was staying at their palace for a few days.

Sakura watched Syaoran and Sophie hold hands, and go shopping from afar. She kept sighing every few minutes, and her dress was probably filthy with dirt. She knew she should've gone back to the cottage. She obviously wasn't wanted at the moment, but she was the Princess! She could do anything she wanted. Even if it meant staying somewhere where she felt unwanted.

Suddenly, something banged into the lower part of her elbow, hitting her funny bone. A weird, tingling sensation erupted throughout her right arm, and when she turned to face who ever had done that, she saw a man, not much older than her, smiling.

"Do you need something?" Sakura asked quite rudely. She wasn't in a very good mood.

The guy nodded. "And that thing is you!" he said.

Sakura snorted. "Right. Goodluck with that,"

He held out his hand, and waited for Sakura to shake it. "The name's Ryosuki Tang. Can I ask yours?" Just as he finished asking, his eyes grew wide. "H - Hang on a second." He eyed Sakura closely. "You...you look like...Sakura Kinomoto! Oh God, are you the _princess?_"

Not wanting to create a scene, and not wanting to scare the man, she shook her head. "No, no I'm not. I just look like Sakura Kinomoto a lot."

He nodded, all nervousness erased. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Well then, how would you like to come with me into the forest...I think we could get into a deep discussion about how beautiful you look," he said.

Sakura took his arm off of her shoulders, and put on a disgusted look. "No thank you," she said politely.

Ryosuki put his arm back around her, and scooted closer towards her. Unexpectedly, he nuzzled her neck, making her feel really weird. "Come on! What's a little _meeting_ in the forest going to do? Ruin your reputation?" he said.

Of course it would! She was the Princess! But there was no possible way she could tell him that now. She had already told him that she wasn't. She tried pushing him away even more, but the more she struggled, the more consistent he became. God, why wasn't this guy getting the point?

Just emerging from a store, Syaoran came out, with a bag of stuff in his left hand. He had done alot of shopping! And when he was just about to enter another store, he had turned his head, only for his amber eyes to be filled with the scene of some guy, hitting on Sakura. He could obviously see that she was trying to struggle. Suddenly, a vein in his forehead popped up. The more he watched, the more it throbbed. He couldn't stand it.

So he ran over, with Sophie trying to ask him what the hell he was doing far behind him,and pulled him away from her. He pulled him away so gruffly, that he had crashed into a table, holding merchandise that a salesman was selling. That wasn't a good idea. Just seconds after Syaoran had pulled the man off of Sakura, a small crowd began to gather around them, two of which were palace gaurds, that weren't the same ones as before.

"HEY!" The Ryo yelled, getting up. "What's your problem? We were just getting cozy!"

Syaoran now had a serious look on his face. "Don't touch her," he hissed.

Ryo inched up towards Syaoran, and soon they were standing face to face. Sakura was just a few feet away from them, closer than the crowd was, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

"Oh yeah?" Ryo responded. "And you're going to stop me, are you?"

"That's right," he answered.

"We'll see about that!" Ryo said, and came swooping up to him.

Right before Syaoran's head was his fist, coming fast, and swiftly towards the middle of his eyes. That was just too easy for Syaoran! He's been training since he was a little boy! He blocked his punch easily, and punched him three times in the stomach. He thought he had finished him off, but what he didn't expect to happen was Ryo's foot, sweeping from underneath him, and knocking off his balance. Syaoran fell on his back, feeling stupid, and soon, feeling a strong hand around his neck. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe.

He could hear people around him gasp. He heard Sophie and Sakura scream. What was going on?

Ryo was choking him, that's what was going on! With his hand still firmly tight around Syaoran's neck, he dragged him up upwards, making the both of them stand. Everyone just watched. The palace gaurds didn't even bother to do anything. They probably thought Syaoran was bound to escape from the man's death grip anyway.

When nobody still did nothing, Sakura stepped in. "STOP!" she cried, trying to pry the man off of Syaoran. "STOP!" Sakura cried once more, but with no avail.

Not able to think of anything else she could do, Sakura slapped the man as hard as she could. It was kind off difficult for her because she was standing on his side, but she got him perfectly on his cheek, and a red hand print began to form where she had slapped him.

"By order of the Princess! I demand you to release that man at _once!_" She cried.

Suddenly, the Ryo let go of Syaoran, and he fell on his back once again, gasping for air.

"Y - Y - You're not the Princess! Y - Y - You told me you w - weren't!" He said.

"I lied!" Sakura said. "Do you know what you have done? You hit on the Princess of Japan, while she was objecting to all of your actions! And you just attacked the Prince of China!"

Suddenly Ryo's face turned green. "P - P - Princess of J - Japan? P - P - Prince of C - China!" he questioned.

Fearful of the consequences that he would have to endure for what he had just done, he ran away as fast as he could, with Sakura hollering from behind him with a smug look on her face.

"You'll be hearing from my father!" Sakura yelled. "And his mother too!"

Slowly, the crowd around them began to get smaller. The gaurds had helped Syaoran up, and once they had made sure that he was okay, Sakura joined him, along with Sophie.

"Today's just full of surprises, isn't it?" Syaoran muttered to himself.

"Syaoran are you okay? I'm so sorry! It was all my fault that he - " Sakura began.

"Don't talk to me," he said rudely.

Sakura's eyes widened. She knew he was mad at her, but...he couldn't have been that mad at her! He had never said that to her ever in her life. So she wouldn't know if he was being sarcastic or not.

"W - W - What?" Sakur asked.

"I'm still mad at you from before," he answered, taking Sophie's hand and walking away. Now it was Sophie's turn to make sure he was okay. She actually wasn't that much of a bad person, actually! You could really tell that she was really worried about Syaoran. All that she was saying to him was sincere.

Sakura watched them walk away, and sooner than she knew it, she was back on the side walk, grumbling angrily to herself.

Meanwhile, at the palace, the first two gaurds that had witnessed the arguement between Syaoran and Sakura had reported back to King Kinomoto and Queen Li. They told them everything that they heard, and, although they weren't dismissed by either of them, they left in a hurry, fearful of what Queen Li might do. She was absolutely angry!

"WHAT!" she had screamed. "That girl? Which girl?"

Although she was quite angry, King Kinomoto was laughing heartily. It was normal that people would try and capture the heart of their sons and daughters because of their money. He had been King for a long, long time! He was used to this.

"It was that Sophie Lane, girl, Yelan!" he said, with a smile still on his face. "We hired her to help Syaoran and Sakura around the cottage, remember?"

Yelan looked up at the ceiling, and stroked her chin. "Sophie Lane...Sophie Lane..." she muttered. "Where have I heard that name before?" she said to herself. "AHA!" She cried, when she had finally figured out where she had heard it before. "Koichi Lane! She's the daughter of that awful man, Koichi Lane!"

"Oh!" Fujitaka said in realization. "Koichi Lane? Why, he's the third richest man in the kingdom! I'm first of course," he said smugly. "He owns lots of land! Almost more land than I own!"

Yelan began to fume again. "Ugh! I can't believe that stupid Sophie Lane!" she said angrily.

She began to mutter swear words and fowl names. Fujitaka found this quite amusing, but after a while, it got kind of annoying, and just so he wouldn't have to hear her fume anymore, he did her a favor.

"Anthony!" he yelled.

Suddenly, a skinny little man dressed in servant uniform, came bustling in, with a sheet of parchment in one hand, and a quill, already dipped in ink in the other.

"I am making a restraining order, understand?" Fujitaka explained. "Dictate me as I go,"

The man named Anthony nodded obediently, and poised his quill over his parchment, ready to write down whatever King Kinomoto had to say.

And then he began.

_"I, King Kinomoto, make it a rule, that Miss Sophie Lane is not to go near Princess Kinomoto Sakura, or Prince Li Syaoran. She must be at least 100 meters away from them. Any less, and she will suffer the consequences for her Father. Every time she goes near them in a distance any less then 100 meters, we will take away a piece of land that her Father, Lane Koichi, owns. Signed, Fujitaka Kinomoto, King."_

Anthony nodded, and finished the last of his sentence. He walked up to King Kinomoto and said, "It's all here, Sir. All you need to do now, is sign the parchment."

King Kinomoto signed it, and Anthony scurried off to the Post Office, where the restraining order would be sent to Sophie.

Fujitaka looked over to Yelan, where she sat right beside him, looking smug, and satisfied. "Hmph," she grunted. "That'll teach her to mess with a member of the Li family,"

And sooner than later, two other gaurds came bustling in, and reported to them about the fight that had gone on earlier. Now both parents were fuming.

For once, in that whole entire day, something happened that wasn't much of a surprise.

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**Read and Review! **

Signing off,  
Azn-blossom**08**


	11. To Feel How He Feels

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I dont own anything, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter eleven!

**To Feel How He Feels**

A week had passed. It was a new day, and things didn't seem to be getting any better. If anything, they got even worse.

Sophie received her restraining order in the mail. Her Father was absolutely furious at not only her, but the King! He ended up stomping up to the castle, all red faced and angry. He tried his best to persuade the King to drop the restraining order, but with no avail. So out of rage and bitterness, he locked Sophie up in her room, threatening to never let her see the light of day again if she went anywhere near Syaoran and Sakura.

Sooner than Sophie expected, he let her out of her room. It was amazing, how much trust he had in his daughter. And so with the permission to leave her room, Sophie began to write a letter to Syaoran, explaining why she hadn't visited in so long. His Mother and Sakura's Father had never let word slip that they had sent a restraining order to Sophie, knowing what Syaoran would probably do. And Syaoran didn't dare visit Sophie to see why she hadn't come to the cottage. He thought that he would look desperate and she'd lose interest in him within a split second.

After receiving the letter, he stomped his way towards the castle, and lashed out on his Mother, and Fujitaka.

"Why did you do that?" he had said. "Why did you send that restraining order to Sophie? Don't you two know how I feel about her? Are you purposely trying to ruin my happiness?"

Yelan and Fujitaka remained completely calm. Throughout Syaoran's yelling fit, they had not winced or done anything to show that he was taking any effect on them, which raged Syaoran even more.

"Can't you see what you're doing?" he exploded.

Sakura was in the corner, watching anxiously, anticipating on what he would do next. Of course, Syaoran had told her about the restraining order once he had finished reading it. He blamed her at first, accused her of persuading her Father to send it. She defended herself as best she could, and when Syaoran had thought he had taken his rage out on her enough, he took out on the King himself, and his Mother, the Queen.

"You don't know Sophie like the towns people do!" Yelan explained. "She has no love, nor feelings for you, I guarantee it, son. She is pretending to have feelings for you for your money and your status."

"That's a lie!" Syaoran countered. "You don't know Sophie like I do! She's sweet, caring, and definitely not what you or Sakura have called her!"

And now their attention was brought towards Sakura. Shyly, she stepped out of the corner, and quietly and slowly made her way into the middle of the room, where Yelan, Fujitaka, and Syaoran were arguing.

"That's not true," Sakura spoke. "You don't know what she did behind your back, Li — "

She was cut off by her Father, clearing his throat. He gave her a look, and having used it many times for Sakura, she instantly knew what it meant.

" — I mean Prince," Sakura immediately said. "She was a horrible person. She _is_ a horrible person!"

Syaoran shook his head, and had a look in his eyes...a kind of look that Sakura had never seen before. It was as if he was scared. He didn't like being confronted by three people...He didn't want to hear a word they had to say.

"I don't believe it," he said. "You're all just mad that I've actually found myself a woman that I really like! You should be happy! I'm not the same with girls anymore. I've been treating them with more respect than I ever have."

With the way he spoke to Sakura that one day? She highly doubted it.

Yelan and Fujitaka shook their heads. "Syaoran," Fujitaka began. "I'd hate to do this...but," he brang out his arm, as if inviting someone into the room. And in the room came three different men. They looked sad, yet determined. All were very good looking, and it was no doubt they came from rich families.

"Who are these people?" Syaoran asked.

"I'd like to know too, Father," Sakura said.

"Well," Fujitaka began. "These are only half of the men that Sophie has toyed with. The other three are too ashamed to come, embarassed at the mere memory of being toyed with and robbed by Sophie Lane. Gentlemen, please tell your story."

The first man in the line that they stood in, nodded, and began to speak. But before doing so, he bent down low, and lowered his head so it was very close to the floor. He got back up in a standing position from what no doubt was a respectful bow.

"Well," the man said. "I met Sophie at a Social Gathering held by my Father. He owns lots of companies throughout many parts of Japan. Well, getting back to the point...Sophie and I hit it off automatically. We liked each other a lot! Or so I thought. I trusted her with everything. We hadn't gotten married or anything, and I know it was completely foolish, but I let slip about the whereabouts of a copy of keys to my Father's safe. It's all emergency money in that safe. Well, it _was_. One morning my Father woke up with a high fever. I went to the safe to get money for some medicine, and it was all gone. No one could have opened that safe. I had the key in a hiding place, and my father kept his highly guarded also. It was Sophie who took it. No doubt about it. I confronted her and she admitted to all of it. I told the authorities, but there was no solid evidence that it was actually she that took the money. They needed a confession from her...but when she didn't give it, they let her go...with my _father's_ money."

He shook his head sadly, and after hearing the other two sad stories of how Sophie had robbed the two other men, Syaoran couldn't take it anymore. He just buried his head in his hands, and apologized for having doubted his parent. He knew his Mother would never have lied about such a thing. She only wanted the best for him.

He also apologized to King Kinomoto.

"I'm so sorry for raising my voice like that," Syaoran had said. "Especially to you,"

Fujitaka raised up a hand, signalling for him to stop. "There's no reason for you to be apologizing, Prince Li," he said. "It was a natural reaction. I would've thought you were crazy if you didn't react the way you did."

They shook hands, and everything was done and over with. Just before leaving though, Yelan held her son back.

"Son," she began. "I think there's one more person that you need to apologize to,"

Syaoran immediately knew who she was talking about. Sakura. She had been the first person to warn him about Sophie. She had told him nothing but the truth, and she did everything she could to try and convince him that he was taking all the wrong steps. It was only fair that he apologize to her.

But there was a feeling in Syaoran that made him not want to. Ever since they were young, he had always been the one that was right. He was so used to being the one that never made any mistakes, that he felt too embarrassed to apologize to Sakura. It wouldn't feel right to him. It would be a huge change in things, and change was the last thing he needed at the moment.

"I know, Mother," he said. "I'll apologize to Sakura as soon as we get back to the cottage," he lied.

After their goodbyes, the two walked back to the cottage in silence. Syaoran never did apologize to Sakura once they had arrived at the cottage. He had merely left the entire subject about Sophie alone, not wanting to go near it ever again.

Which brings us to where they are now. For the past two weeks, Sakura had been taunting Syaoran. Because he had never apologized to her, Sakura felt insulted. It really WAS she that warned him. But he paid no attention to what she said. And because she never got the apology she was expecting, the thanks which should've been credited towards her, she turned what should've been a peaceful month for the both of them, into a horrible one.

The cottage was filled with the sound of arguing. Every now and then a fight would erupt in the tiny cottage, and foul names and insults would be heard if you were up close to the cottage. And of course, it would be Sakura that started all the arguments. Somehow, if they were having a normal conversation, she would turn it towards the subject of Sophie, the subject that Syaoran never wanted to come across ever again.

But the only thing she was trying to accomplish by talking about Sophie was to receive some sort of acknowledgment from Syaoran. She thought that if she'd remind him about it, he would eventually thank her. Afterall, it really was her who had first seen through Sophie's fakeness. But that was the last thing Syaoran was going to do. He thought he'd done enough apologizing when he had said it at least one hundred times when he had caused Sakura to have Poison Ivy.

And that was how it was like for the two weeks. Well, for the first thirteen days at least. The last day, which would mark the second week they had been arguing, was one to remember.

It had started normally. Breakfast in silence, housework in silence, lunch in silence...and dinner? Not so much in silence.

"So how was your day today?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran looked up from his food to Sakura. "Fine. Yours?" he replied.

Sakura smirked. "Oh, yeah. It was absolutely fine. I didn't meet any gold digging guys out there...so I have to say my afternoon went really well!"

Syaoran slammed his fork and spoon onto the table, making Sakura jump. The glasses, the plates, and the cutlery all shook.

"What is your problem?" Syaoran exploded. "Why in bloody hell do you always need to remind me of the stupid mistake I made?"

Syaoran had stood up, and made his way into the living room, hoping to avoid Sakura. But Sakura wouldn't let him go away so easily. She wanted the acknlowedgement which she knew should've been hers. She wasn't just going to let him go on like she hadn't tried helping him out.

"Oh, no reason," Sakura replied, coming into step with him in the living room. "By the way, have you seen Sophie lately? OH, that's right! We can't! My Father already sent a restraining order!"

Syaoran groaned. "Ugh, would you _shutup_, Kinomoto?"

"I'd rather not," Sakura said, and inched towards Syaoran, causing him to take a step back. He's never done that before. Especially not with Sakura...she must really have been getting to him.

"Hey, Syaoran, why don't we visit what's left of Sophie's Father's land? I mean, he obviously won't be owning much after Sophie tries to hit on you again,"

Syaoran groaned again. "Kinomoto, do you always have this big of a mouth? I told you! I made a mistake! I know that! Now will you just please shut up?"

Sakura took a step towards him once again. He took one back. She then began to fume. "I won't shutup! And by God, you should be thankful that I didn't! I _tried_ telling you about Sophie, didn't I? I was the first person to tell you about her. But you had to get our parents involved and you had to hear those three men's stories just to believe me? What is that, Syaoran? You've known me for how long? More than a decade! I can't believe you would trust that gold digging slut over me!"

Syaoran groaned. "News flash, Sakura! Yeah, we've known each other for more than a decade, but do you even remember how we've spent those years? Hating each other, Sakura. _Hating_ each other! So excuse me for choosing someone I actually thought I liked over someone I'm starting to hate even more right now." Sakura's jaw dropped for just a split second before she regained composure. Syaoran noticed. "Yeah, that's right, Kinomoto. I'm really hating you right now."

Now Sakura was furious. She took two more steps towards him, and before either of them knew it, he was backed up in a corner, Sakura keeping him from going anywhere. She really was angry at the time, and so she towered over him...something that she never expected to do in a million years. Maybe the other way around, but never this position.

"Hate me, hmm?" She asked.

Although on the outside she seemed confident, on the inside, she was hurt. Extremely hurt. Sure, they'd said they'd hated each other to other people in sentences like, "Oh, I hate that Syaoran Li!" or "We hate each other so much, Sakura Kinomoto and I." or even, "Is it a hobby that you hate me?" But never, they had NEVER really said, "I hate you." to one another.

Syaoran's gaze was towards the floor, not knowing what to say. He sighed, his eyes still glued to the floor beneath him, "Well...no, I guess...Sakura...I don't really hate you. I - I didn't mean, well, you're just so infuriating right now! Why do you have to keep reminding me of her? Don't you know how much I regret it?"

Sakura threw her head back to hide the tears which had suddenly sprung to her eyes. Oh God. The fact that he said he hated her was actually making her cry!

"Syaoran," she began, keeping her voice from cracking. Somehow, she was still able to sound angry and determined. "It was me, for the last damn time. I was the one who warned you about Sophie! And you bloody chose her over me! When all I was trying to do was help. I was completely ignored. You didn't thank me, you didn't even apologize for doubting me. When you and I both know you should've!" She paused to take a breath. "And I don't know why...but you not doing that...hurt me a lot."

He gave no reply.

"For the past two weeks, that's all I've been trying to get out of you...just a comment, a single comment about how you appreciate me trying to help...how you know that you should've trusted me instead..."

She began to turn around, but in a split second, Syaoran grabbed her wrist, and spun her around, making them in each other's former position. Sakura was the one in the corner, and he was the one towering over her.

And then something that never should've happened - did. Before she could protest to anything he was doing, he placed his mouth on top of hers, in which was no doubt Sakura's very first kiss. At first it seemed like it wasn't happening, but when Sakura began to feel his tongue, tracing her lower lip, she knew that it was all real. Her first kiss, stolen by the man she despised.

She began to shake non-stop. She tried ripping her arm out of Syaoran's death grip, but she had no luck. The more she tried to struggle, the more he held her wrists tighter, making her scream into the kiss more, and making her struggle even more, and the cycle would continue all over again.

And although she was struggling against his actions, there was something at the back of her mind which screamed out the word "pleasure." She had no idea why, but she liked the way he kissed her! But that possibly couldn't be it, Sakura had thought. It was probably just because that was her very first kiss, and she had no experience. Her first one probably would've felt the best, and her others would be a lot better than this...but deep down, she knew that this was the best kiss she could ever have the chance of tasting.

It seemed like forever until Syaoran finally released her. They were both breathing heavily because of the amount of air that they got when kissing each other. To Syaoran's surprise, Sakura actually began to return the kiss, but because they were running out of air, he stopped it.

"Do you know how it feels?" Syaoran said, out of the blue. "Do you know how I feel? Being teased and taunted by you? Knowing that I made a complete idiot out of myself for a girl I hadn't even known for a full week? Feeling stupid because I didn't realize that she was only in it for my money?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to be speechless.

"No," Syaoran said, after Sakura still didn't reply. "You have no idea what it's like,"

And he left her there, standing in the corner of the living room, weeping silently. And before leaving the living room, he turned around.

"Sakura," he said. Sakura looked up at him, with empty, emotionless, tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry." she heard him say. "Are you happy now?" and he left the room, towards the bedroom where he stayed for the rest of the night.

And just to answer his question...

No. She most definitely wasn't.

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**A kiss, me oh my! I wonder what shall happen next. x)**

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	12. Symptoms of You

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Neither this song that is titled for this chapter.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: my interruptions)

**Symptoms of You**

Two months had passed since the spine tingling kiss had happened. Touya came at the end of the first month, just like he was assigned to do at the end of every month, and saw that everything was in order. He did seem suspicious as to what was going on between Syaoran and Sakura. They hadn't spoken to each other normally ever since the little accident. Touya could automatically sense something wrong.

"Everything seems to be in order," Touya had said, just two weeks ago when he visited at the end of the month. "You guys worked really hard. I'm surprised you managed to clean everything, kaiju!"

Syaoran and Sakura, on either side of the room, had just nodded away to everything that Touya was saying. He noticed something was wrong when Sakura didn't squash his foot after he called her by the name that she hated. Something was up. And he didn't like it.

"Hey, _kaiju_," Touya said, emphasizing the word "kaiju" when he said it. _"Kaiju_! Can I have a word with you?"

He was hoping to get his little sister's attention if he said it more clearly. But when she gave no attention to him, and the name she hated being called, he began to get worried.

He began to think that Syaoran had done something to Sakura. Like he had hurt her physically, or called her a mean name. The both of them probably knew what he would do if Syaoran did anything like that. He'd probably start a riot and King Kinomoto would have to call in fifty guards to make sure nothing serious happened.

Sakura nodded after finally hearing her big brother, and walked over to a corner in the living room, where he began to speak. She could feel Syaoran's eyes on her. Watching intently if she was going to spill the beans on what happened two nights prior to this date. She couldn't though. They both knew it. Touya would have a fit.

"What's going on, big brother?" Sakura asked, hoping she'd sound as interested as possible to her brother's ears.

"Cut the curious act with me, kaiju - argh!" Touya said, finally receiving a pound on his foot from his little sister's heel.

"Stop calling me that!" Sakura said, her face red as a tomato. "I've told you that a million times before! Why won't you get a clue?"

"You didn't say it before," Touya answered.

Sakura blinked. "What?" she asked.

"I called you a 'kaiju' three times today. I had to say it one more time before you actually noticed and squashed my toes!"

Sakura blinked again. "W - Well...I - I haven't been paying much attention to you...and I'm sorry about it...But I have some things on my mind that I - "

"Like what?" Touya asked curiously.

Sakura twiddled her thumbs nervously, not knowing what to say. Her gaze was glued to the floor, and she began to trace the floor with the tips of her toes. She even began to blush a tiny shade of bright pink, but she recovered too quickly for Touya to even notice.

"Err - It's - It's nothing! Just some housework...stuff like that,"

Touya narrowed his eyes, and nodded. "Housework...right..." he replied, walking through the front door. "Well, good job this month, you guys. I'll come back next time, and I'll be sure to report back to Father as soon as possible. See you soon, kaiju!"

Sakura went for another stomp on his foot, but missed, making her foot hit the floor with a loud thud, as he swiped it out of the way. He smiled at her the way every big brother does to his younger sister, and she glared at him long enough to bore a whole into him.

Syaoran sighed, and wiped fake sweat off of his forehead. "Phew!" He said, trying to make normal conversation between himself and Sakura. "I'm glad that's over."

Sakura just smiled weakly, and walked into the bedroom where she hoped he wouldn't follow her, just like he did the night after they had kissed.

"...Hey, Kinomoto?" Syaoran asked, just a day after the kiss happened. Sakura was in the bedroom, staring blankly out the window. She turned her head quite slowly, and faced him.

"Yes?" she asked as if everything was normal.

"I just wanted to talk to you about that ki - "

" - I'd rather not..." Sakura interrupted, turning to face the window again.

Syaoran walked to where she was standing. Sakura shifted uncomfortably, but nonetheless, she kept on looking out the window, not wanting to face Syaoran.

"We have to sometime. You know that," he said.

Sakura made no reply. She didn't know what to say, and she feared that if she opened her mouth, she would say something that she'd regret. So she kept quiet, and concentrated on a tree out the window, as if it were the most interesting thing she's ever seen.

"Kinomoto," Syaoran said, bending his head downward so he could try and look her in the eye. "Why do you keep avoiding my eyes?"

Sakura felt her face grow hot. She didn't answer him back, and when she didn't, he did something that he knew he shouldn't have done. Especially after the kiss.

He took her chin, and raised her face up. Sakura stood on her tip-toes, and looked him in the eye. The thing that she was trying to avoid as best she could. But she had no choice. Not now. He wanted her to look him in the eye, and that's what she was going to do.

They stayed in that position for only God knows how long. They didn't stop looking at each other's eyes until Sakura finally realized what she was doing. She shook her head vigorously, as if shaking termites off of her head, and cleared her throat.

"Um...I'm going to bed," Sakura said, walked towards her bed, and stumbling when she hit her ankle on the leg of the bed.

"Kinomoto - " Syaoran began, but was cut off.

" - I have to go to bed," Sakura answered, and quietly tucked herself in.

Which brought them to this month. Things didn't get better. Not by a long shot. After that one night, they spoke rarely, only to say "please", "thanks", or "excuse me". Syaoran was the only one out of the two that even tried to make things better. Sakura didn't even bother, because she knew that after the night of the kiss, things would never be the same. Maybe she was wrong, and things WERE going to be the same. If everything did, then it wouldn't be until a long time.

They spent the next few months by themselves, just thinking and trying to sort things out. But more than often, they found themselves thinking about each other, and that was the last thing they wanted to think about. It was so unusual. Whenever they would think about one thing, they would always find a way to make that thought lean towards the person that they didn't want to think about.

"Hmm..." Sakura said one afternoon on the porch. The sun was bright, and it beat down onto her bright auburn hair. Her hair flowed in every direction, and for once during this whole summer, she actually felt a nice breeze.

"I wonder what Syaoran's doing right now..." she said out loud. Realizing what she had just said, she smacked herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. "Stupid!" She scolded. "Don't think about him! Think about something else! Think about...um..."

So as you could obviously see, Sakura struggled to not think about Syaoran. She thought it would be easy, after all, she did hate his guts...It looked like she guessed wrong.

There was only but one thing left for her to do, that she hoped would keep her from thinking about that blasted Prince. She began to hum a sweet, soft melody. A tune that she hoped would express all the confusion and tension there was between them. She hummed it all away, out of her soul and into the cool air.

"Flowers!" Sakura suddenly said. "I'll think about flowers! I love flowers. They smell so good. I love cherry blossoms, too! My favorite flower in the whole world. Father likes tulips. Big brother likes roses...Syaoran likes peonies...Argh!"

Once again, she thought of him. She didn't mean to. It was so unusual because she didn't want to think about him! So why was she? Only insane people struggled to keep thoughts of people they didn't want to think about away, but never really succeeded. So maybe she was insane, she was fine with that.

To her, being insane was a lot better than thinking she had Syaoran on the brain.

Hum, hum, hum. Pause. Hum, hum, hum. Just keep humming.

**_xxxxxx_**

With Syaoran it wasn't much of a differen't case. It was definitely like the same thing. He thought about one thing, and somehow found a way to connect it with Sakura. It was like they shared a brain.

"Sakura. Stupid Sakura! Who does she think she is, ignoring me?" Syaoran said to himself as he stared out the window in the bedroom he shared with Sakura. Gruffly, he opened the window to get some fresh air. He was greeted with a soft breeze, and the beautiful tune the woman he was trying to ignore was currently belting.

"I...never knew," he said simply, letting his head rest on his palms, "her voice is so beautiful." But within an instant, he was smacking himself on the forehead and shutting the window closed. "Stop thinking about her!" He scolded himself, "How hard can this be? Just think of something else! Anything else but her,"

**_xxxxxx_**

Sakura slouched in her seat. She was sitting in the old rocking chair that Syaoran had just recently fixed. She remembered so clearly the day she broke it. Well, how SOPHIE broke it. She was causing trouble, trying to force Sophie into feeling that she didn't want to be there. Her plan backfired. Because if it had worked, than she wouldn't be in this situation with Syaoran at the moment.

And then she heard a nearby window shut closed. Her head snapped upwards, looking into the direction of where she thought she heard the noise. "Syaoran..." she mumbled, "I wonder why he closed it so harshly. He must be angry or something." She crossed her arms firmly across her chest, "But why should I care?"

Why was she thinking about him? She tried to not think about him so many times, but it was like that her brain wasn't functioning. When she came up with the explanation that she was insane, she thought: Insane people don't know they're insane, do they?

So, she came up with the explanation that she was sick. Sick people know they're sick! Of course.

But she knew she was only making up stupid excuses. She was thinking about Syaoran, and for the oddest reason she could not think of, she liked it.

**_xxxxxx_**

Although Syaoran was basically in the same situation as Sakura, he didn't like thinking about her. Not one bit. He thought he was going crazy! He came up with the same excuse as Sakura...you're crazy if you think about the person you don't want to be thinking about. But he knew he wasn't crazy. So...

"I'm sick!" He shouted. "The only reason I'm thinking about her is because I'm sick!"

He nodded approvingly to himself, and lay flat on his bed, his hands behind his head, feeling relaxed. "I'm sick..." He said again, drifting off into sleep. Dreaming about no one, but Sakura.

And it was true. They were both very sick indeed. Suffering from nothing other than -

Symptoms of her.

Symptoms of him.

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**Excuse the length of this chapter, please! Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	13. Sick Days

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty! _

Disclaimer: Falala, CCS is only mine in my heart. HAHA.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter thirteen!

**Sick Days**

Sakura brought the woven blanket, given to her by Syaoran all the way up to her chin. She stuck her hand out from under the blanket, and rubbed at her already red nose. She sniffled, and coughed a couple of times. She groaned as she tried to hoist herself into a sitting position on her bed, but then she became dizzy, and gave a louder groan.

Syaoran bustled into the room, carrying a wooden tray with Sakura's breakfast, and a flower vase. It was filled with what was left of the cherry blossoms, because the weather had gone from sunny bright, to a comfortable cloud-ish, signalling that they had already gone well into the autumn season.

From the beginning of June was when Sakura and Syaoran had moved in with each other at the tiny cottage that they were so close to calling "home". July and August were one of the worst months of their lives, and October wasn't any better, so they counted the days until they would finally move out, and be told the whole reason they were put into such a terrible situation. There weren't much days left to count, because they were so close to entering November. The very last month that they would be spending together in the cottage.

Syaoran placed the tray and vase onto the bedside table. He rushed over to Sakura, and put his hand gently onto her forehead. She was heating up, which obviously wasn't a good sign.

"Kinomoto!" Syaoran said. "What did I tell you about trying to get up in bed? Lay down and get some rest!" He practically commanded.

Sakura gave out a loud groan once again, and flopped onto her back. That was a bad idea, because soon after, that same wave of dizziness that had swirled around her head when she tried sitting up came right back. That made her moan even louder.

"I hate this stupid fever. Go away, fever!" Sakura said, acting stupid. She knew she couldn't command a fever to come and go as she pleased.

Syaoran smiled at Sakura's childish remark. "I got you some breakfast," he said. "I made your favourite,"

Sakura smiled for the first time in three days. Her smile was bright, even brighter than Sophie's fake ones when she said, "Fluffy pancakes with strawberries, butter, syrup, and bacon and saussage on the side?"

Syaoran nodded. "Not one thing is missing,"

Sakura gave him a look of thanks. But her face went from thankful to serious. "Did you give me the occassional fruit cup?" she asked.

Syaoran shook his head while laughing. "Of course." he answered.

Sakura smiled once again, and balanced the tray on her thighs. She tried taking a big whiff of her favourite breakfast, but couldn't. Stuffy noses. One of the many disadvanteges that a fever can give someone.

"I told you - " Syaorab began, but was interrupted.

"Don't even say it," Sakura said, ignoring his eyes.

Syaoran smirked, and paid no attention to what she had just said. "I told you so!" he said.

Sakura groaned again. It seemed that she had been doing alot of that ever since the doctor said she had a high fever.

"I told you that you never should've ran outside in the rain!" Syaoran said, watching Sakura as she ate the fluffy pancakes Syaoran had made for her. She ate it very slowly, trying to get the actual taste of it, but she had no luck on that one.

Just three days ago, it had been raining for the first time in months. The rain fall was so heavy, that there was no one on the streets. Not even the children that would usually come running out from their homes, jumping in puddles and making mud castles. Not today. The weather was too harsh.

Sakura was the only insane person that went out into the rain, only wearing her home clothes and a thin summer coat. She came dashing out the front door, and onto the lawn, where she stomped on the puddles, making a tsunami for the bugs and insects on the ground.

"This is so fun!" Sakura said, dropping on her knees and making mud pies. "I haven't played in the rain since May!"

She continued stomping on the puddles and playing with all the mud. She was having the time of her life, when Syaoran suddenly came out of the cottage, carrying a big black overcoat which he held over his head.

"What in bloody hell are you doing?" Syaoran yelled, the heavy rain splattering noises muffling his voice.

"What does it look like?" Sakura yelled back, trying to make Syaoran hear her as best she could. "I'm playing in the rain!"

Syaoran held the coat over Sakura's head also. For a minute, the rain stopped falling on both her head, and Syaoran's, but because Sakura didn't want that, she shoved the overcoat away from her. She then began to fling her arms out, spinning around and around like the little girl she use to be.

"Sakura Kinomoto! Get your arse over here this minute!" Syaoran hollered behind her. "You're going to get malaria, or pneumonia, or...or...or a cold!"

"I don't care!" Sakura sang, continuing to do whatever she was doing.

Syaoran ran back to the cottage, and went inside. He stuck his head out the door, and warned Sakura one last time. "Fine, Kinomoto! Stay out here in the rain! Don't come running to me when you die of sickness!"

Sakura stopped dancing in the rain, and turned to face him, an angry look plastered on. "I won't! You know why? Because I - won't - get - sick!" She said, turning around and beginning to dance.

Syaoran shook his head miserably, and returned the overcoat to the closet. "Why, oh why does she always have to do that when it's raining?" He said aloud to himself. "Everyday since we were five...Why in the world does she always have to do that?"

Suddenly, Syaoran heard the front door open and close. He turned around and saw a dripping wet Sakura, soaked from head to toe.

"Because she loves the rain," she answered, and headed for the bathroom to get a towel.

"Hey, Kinomoto - " Syaoran began.

"I don't want to talk about it, Li. Lecture me later, I don't feel well,"

Syaoran merely shrugged his shoulders, and thought that she'd probably get better in the morning. Besides, all the years she had been prancing around in the rain since she was a kid, pre-teen, and teenager, which she was now, she never, ever got sick.

But this year was different.

She spent all of that night tossing and turning, feeling dizzy and out of balance. Syaoran woke up to the sound of her crying. Her nose was stuffed and she felt terrible. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and Syaoran promised her that as soon as morning came he would take her to the local doctor.

"High fever," the doctor stated, as he removed all his medical instruments from Sakura's body. She was lying on an old bed, ragged from all those years it had been used. She worse than the other night, and Syaoran was beginning to get worried.

"I prescribe that she take lots of fluids, and at least two of these, every six hours," the doctor said, holding up a small red bottle, with tiny pills in it. Syaoran and Sakura took it gratefully, and took a carriage back to the cottage.

They informed their Parents immediately of course, and seeing as how Sakura was not feeling well, it was obvious that she couldn't walk to the Doctor's. So just this once, they let them take a carriage there and back from the doctor's office.

And even though Fujitaka had never spent a day in his life without his daughter if she was ever ill, he couldn't help but leave the two alone. After all, it was a learning experience, and whether or not he liked it, they had to learn how to take care of themselves and one another. Even in sickness.

For the next two days, Sakura took the pills as the doctor instructed. She took as much fluids as she could, and before she knew it, she was feeling slightly better. She wasn't on top of the world or anything like that, but she had improved, and that was good enough for her to be in a good mood. Which also helped in getting her better.

Hmm, maybe she really was suffering from Symptoms of Him?

"Do you really think I'd listen to you? I mean come on, you know me better than that, Li," Sakura stated. "I run outside everytime it rains! You should know because I dragged you out there once, and you fell in mud. Your Mother got so mad at you for getting your new robes dirty!"

Syaoran snarled at her. "I was barricaded in my room for most of the week because of that! And I know I didn't fall! You delibrately pushed me, Kinomoto!"

Sakura smiled triumphantly. "Was it my fault I did that? You got locked in your room, didn't you? That was exactly what I was hoping. I was hoping to get you in trouble so I could finally have at least a few days to myself without having our parents trying to make us be friends,"

"Hmm..." Syaoran said, stroking his chin. "Why do you think our parents have been doing that anyway? They've always made us slow dance with each other at all those dumb formal balls...and they make us live together for half a year! Do you think we're like...betrothed to be married or something?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura stared at him for a long time. Syaoran did also. After a few minutes, they both burst out laughing, almost making Sakura choke on her pancakes.

"Yeah, right!" Sakura said, snorting. "They wouldn't do that!"

Syaoran snorted also. "Yeah, how stupid could I be, thinking something like that!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Very," she replied.

They both began to laugh again. This was the most bonding they'd done ever since Syaoran had given Sakura her first kiss.

Their laughter eventually died down, and Syaoran watched Sakura, as she ate her breakfast. He soon got bored of just watching her, and so he decided to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Sakur asked, just as he was about to turn the door knob.

"Oh, well..." Syaoran began. "I just thought that you wanted some privacy, that's all,"

Sakura nodded. Syaoran nodded back. He stepped outside, and just before completely leaving, he stuck his head through the door, and said, "Don't forget to take your medecine. I left it underneath your plate,"

Sakura nodded once more, and finished off her pancakes. She started on her saussages and bacon, and before she knew it, she was finished with only her fruit cup to scarf down.

She picked up her fork, and began to pick at the numerous fruits in her cup. She began to eat away at the strawberries, grapes, and apple slices. She didn't eat the cherries, though. She always saved those to eat last. She always thought that you should always save the best for last.

When finally she finished everything, she grabbed the glass of water that stood on her night stand. She held up the plate that held her pancakes with her right hand, and with the other, she quickly took the folded napkin, which contained two tiny white tablets.

Quickly, she thrust them into her mouth, and held it under her tongue, until she took a great big gulp of the water. They went down easily into her throat, and went further down to rest in her stomach, where she hoped it would help her feel better sooner than later.

She flopped down on her back once again, and felt no dizziness erupt throughout her body. That was a good sign to show that she was feeling better. The pills must've been working really well. Sakura could tell, because the Doctor warned that the pills would make her feel slightly drowsy.

Before Sakura knew it, her eye lids started to become heavier and heavier with each and every moment. She struggled to stay awake, but darkness overcame her, and she was sent away to a land far away from where she currently was, sailing the waves of her imagination...

**_xxxxxx_**

_Sakura was walking down an isle, holding a bouqet of flowers._

_"Where am I?" Sakura asked. She looked at her arms, and saw that she was covered in what seemed to be a silky white fabric. Her vision was blurred. Not exactly, but it seemed as if a veil was covering her face...Which it was._

_Her arm was linked with her Father's, and as she came closer and closer to the front of what seemed to be a church, people stood up, and bowed their heads down low._

_"Father...?" Sakura asked. "What's going on?"_

_As if he had not heard her, Fujitaka kept on his smiling face, and kept on looking forward._

_"Father!" Sakura practically shouted, as she walked along with him. "What's going on?" she asked for the final time. Her Father was now beginning to irritate her. He didn't pay any attention to her at all, and he just kept walking like a smiling mindless idiot, towards the front of the isle._

_"Stop!" Sakura said, stopping in her tracks...And then the most unusual thing happened. Her Father did not stop walking, and although she thought she had, Sakura hadn't either!_

_Sakura watched as she - well, her body, dressed in what she now knew was a wedding gown, and her Father, walk down the isle, as she was left far behind, rooted to her spot. Then she realized she was still in her home clothing, while everyone else in the room was in formal gowns and suits._

_Sakura gasped in shock. She ran as fast as she could to keep up with them, and stood infront of herself and her Father, to keep them from going any further. Then something even more strange happened. She stood infront of them, and saw that she, too, was smiling like an idiot._

_"What in the world...?" Sakura asked, as she stood still, and waited for her Father to bump into her._

_That didn't happen. Surprisingly, he walked right through her as if she were a ghost, and finally, Sakura, the dream Sakura, and Fujitaka had reached the front._

_Tomoyo was there, along with the man that had been courting her for the past few months - Eriol._

_Sakura gasped in realization. "No...this can't be," she clamped her hand over her mouth, "this can't be my...my wedding!"_

_She continued to watch as she kissed her Father on the cheek, and whisper something in his ear. She saw her brother, standing behind the man she was to marry, and she walked the two steps that led to her soon-to-become husband._

_His face was slightly turned during the whole ceremony. During his vows, the placing of the rings, everything! But when time finally came for them to kiss, the man still didn't turn his head forward. He reached for her veil, and lifted it, and that was when she knew her mystery man had no face. All the time she thought he was turning away, she was wrong. There was his body, and everything from the face down, but no actual facial features. But she did notice he had a brown-ish kind of hair. Darker than your normal brown._

_His blank face inched closer towards hers, and before he did anything, he whispered the three lone words, "I love you,"_

_I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you._

_**xxxxxx**  
_  
The three hollow words that came from her husband-to-be echoed inside her slightly aching head. They had meant nothing to her, those words. That man, whoever he might've been, could've told her the sweetest things girls could only wish to hear, and Sakura never would've given it the time of day. How could he have said those things to her, and how could she accept them when she had no idea who he was?

Sakura was in a cold sweat. She shook her head vigorously, as if trying to rid herself of the weird dream. That obviously didn't work, because she had thought about it the whole day. Trying to figure out what it meant. It's not like she found that out.

And then Syaoran came in the room, carrying two white fluffy pillows. "Oh, you're awake," he said.

Still in a daze because of the dream, Sakura answered quite rudely. "Thanks for stating the obvious,"

Syaoran brought his eye brows together, and as he did so, wrinkles began to appear on his forehead. He was obviously confused as to why she answered so rudely when he only said once simple thing.

"What's your problem?" He said, as he set the pillows down to her side.

Sakura shook her head. "It's nothing...I'm sorry. What's with the pillows?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Syaoran suddenly remembered. "Oh, well I just came back here a few minutes ago to pick up the wooden tray and all your bowls. They were on the floor, and I could see why, because you were tossing and turning like your life depended on it. Anyway, I thought you were uncomfortable, so I brought you some pillows,"

Sakura smiled at him, and felt stupid because he had only entered the room to do something nice to her, and yet she spoke to him so rudely.

"Aww...That's sweet, Li,"

Syaoran shrugged. "It's no big deal,"

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Neither of them wanted to say anything. Even though they knew what they should talk about. The night they kissed. They hadn't spoken about it in a long time, and like Syaoran had said, they had to talk about it sometime, and they both knew it. So, reluctantly, Sakura began her piece.

"Li...I was thinking...Maybe we shoud talk about - "

"The kiss?" he interrupted.

Sakura nodded.

"Well...what's there to say?" he said, feeling unsure of what to do or say.

Sakura shrugged. "Well...Why did you do it?"

Syaoran shrugged also. "I...I don't know. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time..."

Sakura snorted. "Just how did that feel like the right thing?"

Syaoran shook his head. "I...I don't know. You were just so irritating! I felt so stupid for falling for a girl that was only in for my money. My Mother was disappointed in me, even though she tried not to show it, your Father was disappointed in me, YOU were disappointed in me, and you never let me live a day without mentioning my stupid mistake. I was just so frustrated. So...I kissed you,"

Sakura nodded away to everything he was saying. But she looked at him, and never said a word.

"I understand if you don't believe me, and I'll also understand if YOU don't understand - "

" - I do," Sakura interrupted. "I understand why you did it, and I don't blame you at all for anything that you've done,"

Syaoran looked at her with wide eyes. "Y - You don't? I mean, I kissed you. I was the first man to ever kiss you! And...Don't you remember? When we were thirteen years old, you told me that if anyone forced you into kissing them, you'd sue them until every single penny they had was yours, and then you'd donate it to an orphanage?"

Sakura smiled. "I know...But, I can't sue you. You're a Prince!" Sakura joked.

Syaoran chuckled, and for once, Syaoran's laughter didn't seem too bad after all.

"So...everything's okay now, right?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded cheerfully. "Yes, of course."

Syaoran smiled widely. "Great! So then..." he shifted uncomfortably, the smile vanishing. "Does this make us...like, friends, or something?"

Friends? Did the fact that they had cleared up that one single argument make them friends? They had argued so many times in the past...what made this one particular fight any different? Well, it was the biggest fight they'd ever had, after all. It would only be right if they did become friends after this...

Sakura's smiled faded. "Right...we're..._friends_," she said.

Syaoran however, smiled even wider than before. "Great! Our parent's are going to be so glad we're finally getting along. Maybe then they'll let us move out of this horrid cottage. What do you think, friend?"

Sakura forced a laugh. Friends? Just friends? For some reason, that didn't sound right to her.

But what the hell, what did she know? She was sick! Her brain obviously wasn't operating properly, and sick days made you think weird. And it made you dream about weird things too.

Or was she just trying to avoid a certain feeling that she'd been feeling for the past five months?

-

-

-

-

**What a shocker. They're FRIENDS. Read and Review, please? x)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	14. The Night of the Masquerade Ball

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter fourteen!

**The Night of the Masqeurade Ball**

Sakura sat up in bed, feeling a lot better than ever. She swung her feet over the bed, and got out of her night gown, and into proper clothing. She skipped her way to the kitchen, making a racket of noise.

"Hi, Li!" Sakura chirped as she took her seat by the kitchen table.

Syaoran turned around, with a white cloth hanging from his shoulder, and forks and spoons in his hands. The kitchen area smelled of baked pancakes, and freshly made strawberry jam. Had Syaoran made all this just for Sakura?

"Hey, Kinomoto," He greeted, and set the plates and cutlery down on the table. He took his seat across from her, and seemed to be in a very good mood. How could she blame him, when just the other day they finally called a truce?

"What do you want to do this afternoon?" Sakura asked, as she took a huge bite of her breakfast.

"Oh," Syaoran replied, "I was thinking of going to the Post Office. I have a letter for my Mom, and I just thought I'd send it in as soon as possible,"

"Oh?" Sakura said, "What about?"

Before answering, Syaoran took a bite out of his breakfast, and a gulp of milk. He wiped his mouth, and then said, "Oh, Mother just sent in a fruit basket! It's just a thank you letter, to tell her that we received it,"

"Really?" Sakura said, "I haven't seen it."

Getting up and retrieving it from the living room table, Syaoran brought in the fruit basket that was filled with all different kinds of juicy and organic fruits.

"Oh." Sakura said, and finished off what was on her plate. She waited a few minutes for Syaoran, but it didn't take too long. When they finally finished everything, they put on their coats, and made their way into the village, where Syaoran would mail his letter to his Mother.

As they waited in the long line just to get the letter into the hands of the post man, Sakura and Syaoran began to fidget in their spots. Sakura began to twiddle her thumbs, while Syaoran stood on the tips of his toes, and then back again on his heels. He did that for a while, until someone in front of them suddenly gasped.

"It's Princess Sakura!" the lady in front gasped, "And Prince Syaoran!"

Syaoran and Sakura froze in their spots, and looked each other square in the eye. They both blushed a deep shade of pink, and began to make foolish explanations and excuses to the people around them, because they all started making way for such royalty.

"No!" Sakura shrieked, as she took the woman in front of her and placed her back in her spot in front of her. She had moved out of the way, to make way for the two of them, but Sakura obviously objected to all their actions.

People everywhere in the Post Office were stepping aside and making room so Syaoran and Sakura could go to the very front of the line. Because of such attention that they weren't used to getting for the past five months, the pink blush that crept upon their faces was there to stay.

They both laughed nervously, and kept on placing people back in their spots in front of them. "No, no, no!" Syaoran began, "You're mistaken. We're not royalty! Really."

But no one believed them. So with a sigh of defeat, Syaoran and Sakura moved towards the front of the line, where the employees that worked at the Post Office went down low for a respectful bow. Syaoran and Sakura nodded to all of them, and being in this situation before, they totally knew how to act.

"You may rise," they both said in unison. They all stood up, but didn't start to work again.

"Well," Sakura piped up, "Continue on with your duties." Everyone began to walk around again, and scuttled off to do their own business. Sakura waited patiently by one corner while Syaoran sent the letter to his mom.

"If you please," Syaoran began, "Send this to my mother immediately. She is wanting to know how I am doing on my own," The man standing before him shook his head vigorously.

"Yes, sir, right away, sir!"

Syaoran turned around on the desk, and leaned on it. "It's nice to have some respect around here again," he said to Sakura.

Sakura snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you not gotten respect? These people are wonderful." She replied.

"Yes, well," Syaoran said, "I haven't been in one of these situations in a long time,"

Sakura nodded, and knew full well what he was talking about. Living in a cottage for five months and doing your own chores for once in your life was quite a leap for them. Getting attention like this wasn't something they had gotten in quite a long time.

Suddenly, a girl that worked at the Post Office scuttled towards them, with her head bent down low. She seemed quite shy, and didn't want either of them to see her face. She obviously got what she wanted, because during the whole time they had been speaking to her, they didn't see anything of her except her uniform.

"You have a letter," the girl said, "From the King and Queen. They say it is urgent, and that you must read it as soon as possible,"

Sakura took it from the girl, and nodded in thanks. "Your work is greatly appreciated," Sakura began, "Go on with your duties,"

The servant girl ran off to do her work, as if relieved to be out of the presence of such people. They weren't offended. They were use to that kind of thing when it came to them.

Sakura's eyes widened with every sentence that she read in the letter. Syaoran watched her, as she gasped and raised her eyebrows as high as they could go. She seemed to be really surprised, but he couldn't imagine just what she was surprised about reading. Either there was a serious family problem, or something else.

"Would you believe it?" Sakura exclaimed, as she thrust the letter into his hands, "Take a look at that! Read it! Go on, read it!" Sakura urged.

Syaoran flipped the letter open, and began to read it, having the same reactions as Sakura.

_King Fujitaka Kinomoto, and Queen Yelan Li Cordially invite: _

_Prince Syaoran Li, and Princess Sakura Kinomoto_

_To the masquerade ball, held at the Castle, October 28th, beginning at 19:00 until whichever time our guests choose to leave. You are obligated to come, as Prince and Princess of your country, and as the son and daughter of the King and Queen. Costume is required._

_Also, because you are Royalty, and are expected to arrive in a nice manner by most of our important guests, we will be sending carriages down to your cottage._

_Hoping our invitation is accepted,  
King Kinomoto, Queen Li_

Syaoran ended the letter with a shocked look on his face. "I can't believe it!" Syaoran said, as he crumpled the piece of paper up in his hands. "That's today!"

Sakura gasped, and grabbed the already crumpled paper from his grasp. "What?" she screamed.

She un-crumpled it, and re-read the letter. After reading it a second time, Sakura crumpled it herself in anger, and threw it into a waste bin.

"You!" Sakura screamed, as she walked towards the girl that delivered her the letter. The girl seemed quite frightened, but Sakura didn't mean to do such a thing. She was just angry that they had received the letter at such late notice. "Why didn't I receive this letter earlier?"

With her head still bowed down low, the girl replied, "I'm sorry, ma'am!" she sounded quite scared. "There was a mix up at the Post Office! We would have sent it to you this morning, but this moronic little boy bumped into the post man and made him drop all the letters in the box and there were hundreds of letters I - "

"Wait," Sakura said, stopping the girl from rambling on like an idiot, "What do you mean that you would've sent it to me this morning? Didn't you get this weeks ago?" Sakura asked, waving the letter infront of her face.

"No, ma'am. We got it quite early this morning."

"What time?" Sakura asked suspicously.

The girl stood on her tip toes and twiddled her thumbs, both Syaoran and Sakura's actions joined together. It seemed she was trying to remember.

"About five AM in the morning, ma'am. We were going to send it at seven AM, just like all of our letters, but that stupid little boy I told you about..." and she went on ranting about things Sakura didn't care about. Sakura nodded at the girl, and scurried back to Syaoran.

"I can't believe them!" Sakura said, "They sent it just today! JUST today! They sent it only today so we wouldn't have a choice to think about going or not! We absolutely have to go, whether we like it or not. It's too late to say anything now,"

Sakura was pink with anger. So was Syaoran. They both hated it when their parents did this. They both knew that their son and daughter absolutely hated the dumb formal balls held and created by their parents. They knew it was just some stupid way to get them closer together as friends. But there was no need for that since they already were.

"This is perfect," Sakura said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. They stepped out of the Post Office, and began to go walking around aimlessly throughout the village. "How are we supposed to get a costume in just six hours?"

"I don't know about you, but I know what I'M going to be for the ball," Syaoran replied.

"Oh?" Sakura said, "What?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Syaoran said mysteriously, as he stepped into a store filled with different kinds of costumes. "Wait out here, and don't you dare peek inside to see what I'm buying!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, and nodded. Just waiting fifteen minutes, Syaoran was out, and ready to go wherever Sakura wanted. He was surprised to discover that she wasn't in any need to buy a costume. Apparently, while he was in the store, she had thought up a perfect idea of what she was going to be, and didn't need to do any shopping because she already had a dress.

It was well into the afternoon when Syaoran and Sakura had finally finsished shopping for stuff that they thought the cottage would need, and walked back home to the cottage to get ready for the ball. Thankfully, being the girly kind of girl that she is, Sakura brought her make-up that she hadn't used in ages, (five months to be exact) and beautiful dress shoes. She didn't think that she would ever need these in a cottage, but brought them anyway, just incase of an emergency. Sakura complimented herself greatly for that.

Just as the time approached when they would be heading off for the ball, Syaoran waited quietly in the living room for Sakura. He had gotten ready for this event a lot faster than she did, and because of that, he had to wait for what seemed like eons. Neither of them saw what the other was wearing. They were really secretive about this, so they made a deal that Sakura would get dressed in the bathroom, and Syaoran would get changed in the bedroom. That worked out nicely.

Just minutes before the ball began, Sakura was still not ready to go. That was bad, because Syaoran heard the carriage arrive, just outside the cottage. He heard the hooves of the horses halt to stop, and the coach man knock on the door.

With a sigh, Syaoran walked up to the bathroom, and knocked impatiently. "Sakura Kinomoto! The carriage is here. Come on, get out!"

It sounded like Sakura was in a hurry. "In a minute!" she replied.

With another sigh, Syaoran walked out of the living room area, and to the front door. He opened it, and saw that there were two carriages instead of one.

"What?" Syaoran said, "I thought my mother only sent one carriage."

And then it hit him. He specifically remembered reading that they were sending _carriages_ to take them to the ball. Not_a_ carriage. He felt really stupid.

"Um, good sir," Syaoran said, "Princess Sakura is still in the process of getting ready for the ball. Would you mind if we waited for her?"

The coach man shook his head respectfully. "I'm sorry, sir. Your Mother wishes that you arrive as soon as possible, with or without Miss Sakura. She won't accept you being late,"

Syaoran knew it. His Mother always hated it when he was late. He was going to be if he didn't leave soon. But what about Sakura?

As if reading his mind, the coach man said, "The other coach man will explain to her. She will meet you there."

With another sigh, Syaoran agreed, and went into the carriage. It wasn't a long ride there, and he expected that Sakura would show up just minutes after he did, but she didn't. Typical. Sakura was always fashionably late.

The ball started, and people began flooding into the ballroom. People were dressed as the most peculiar things. As if to flatter Syaoran and Sakura, the majority of the people attending the ball were dressed as Princes or Princesses. Syaoran wasn't flattered about this at all. Just really annoyed. People were also dressed as animals, like peacocks, and chickens...It was the most unusual ball ever. And of course, everybody's had on some type of mask. After all, it was a masquerade.

"Mother, may I leave yet?" Syaoran asked through gritted teeth. He was smiling as best he could, but it seemed like his smile would always seem to falter.

"Not yet, Xiao Lang!" His Mother answered, with a smile plastered onto her face also. "Just twenty minutes into the ball and you flee from it like it's a fatal sickness. By the way, where is Sakura?"

Syaoran shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But you can't be too surprised that she's late, mother. She always is,"

"Now don't say that about her." Yelan scolded, "Now go and greet people on the dance floor."

"But Mother - "

" - Xiao Lang Li! Do as I tell you,"

With a growl, he glared at his Mother, and walked to the middle of the dance floor, where he began shaking hands with all of his Mother's important guests, and close family friends that had been invited.

He was just about to finally go crazy with all the "Glad you could make it," greetings, when the announcer said, "_Miss Sakura Kinomoto, Princess of Japan_,"

Everyone's head turned, including Syaoran's, and he saw Sakura, standing at the top of the winding stairs, looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen her in his life...Well, to him at least. She was wearing a yellow corsette, and a yellow skirt, which puffed out at the bottom, circling her tiny waist perfectly. She was carrying a yellow fan, just to accessorise, and a tiny bit of pink blush. Her hair was down, auburn ringlets framing her gold sequined butterfly mask.

Smiling, Sakura walked down the stairs, and everyone watched, as she silently made her way down to the middle of the dance floor to meet Syaoran.

When she got there, she curtsied, and bowed her head towards him. In return, Syaoran bowed for her. Sakura held up her hands in a dancing position, and Syaoran took them, and they began to waltz, along with everyone else in the room.

"Hi!" Sakura said cheerfully. "What are you supposed to be?"

Still dazed because of Sakura's beauty, he answered, "I'm dressed as King,"

Sakura laughed, and noticed how he was dressed. With the forest green suit he was wearing, with a gold flowing cape just trailing along behind him, she wondered how she didn't notice what he was pretending to be.

"A - And you?" Syaoran spluttered.

Sakura giggled, and Syaoran spun her around. After doing so, he continued to waltz with her again. "I'm...I'm my Mother," Sakura replied shyly. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, without the help of her make-up.

Syaoran stopped moving his feet, and Sakura did also. "Sakura," he began, "This is supposed to be a costume ball,"

Sakura put on a confused look. "I know. That's why I'm dressed as my mother,"

Syaoran shook his head slowly, and brough his hand up to her cheek, making her blush a much deeper shade of pink. He stroked it gently, and said, "Sakura, you _are_ your mother,"

At that sentence, Sakura's head snapped up, and she gazed directly into his amber eyes. There was something there that she hadn't noticed before. She hadn't known how beautiful they looked...How intense they seemed to be. They were a rich colour. Almost like gold.

Sakura suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, when she heard Yelan speaking to her. "It's so wonderful that you decided to join us, Sakura!" she began, "Not that either of you had a choice," she laughed at her own stupid joke. She went on to say that there were still guests that needed to be greeted by the Prince and Princess. So they scurried off, greeting any other guest that they thought they hadn't spoken to yet.

"Hi!" Sakura chimed, as she stuck her hand out to shake the man's hand that stood before her. "It's a pleasure to have you here in my castle!"

The man in the Prince costume took her hand, and shook it. "Hello. My name is Kenji Oruto. The pleasure is definitely all mine," the man named Kenji said in a seducting voice, one that Sakura would never fall for. He took the back of her left hand, and brought it up to his lips, where he gave it a peck.

Syaoran saw this from far away, and he was surprised to see that his fists were in balls. He kept on watching, as the man and Sakura chattered away. By instinct, he knew Sakura was starting to get annoyed by this guy. He'd seen it many times before. A guy would hit on Sakura, Sakura would get annoyed and steer him away, but in the end, someone would always end up getting hurt. Mainly the guy hitting on Sakura.

In anger, Syaoran turned to get a drink, and saw Sakura striding towards him. "Hey," she said briskly, taking his re-filled glass and drinking it for herself. "That Kenji Oruto guy I was talking to sure is a pain in the neck."

"Oh?" Syaoran said, "How?"

Taking one last gulp of Syaoran's drink, Sakura shook her head. "Oh, nothing important. He wants to dance that's all. But I told him some lie about me having to dance with someone else," Syaoran felt the jealousy rise.

Syaoran watched her, as Sakura looked at the few people on the dance floor. "You know," Syaoran said, "You're going to have to dance with someone, or he'll know that you were lying to him,"

Sakura stroked her chin thoughtfully. "You make a good point. I never thought of that. Come on, dance with me!" Sakura said.

Just as she pulled his arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor, a lady came up to them. A blonde haired one with hazel green eyes. She was dressed in a pink gown, and wore a blood red lipstick. It wasn't a very good combination, although pink was the "in" thing to wear.

"Hello," the lady began, "I'm Eimi Juelo. It's a pleasure to be in your prescence," and she went down low into a bow. "I work for the local newspaper, and I would love to write an article about you, and how you communicate with other people, in a good way, Miss Sakura,"

"Oh?" Sakura said, "Go on. I'm quite interested,"

With permission to go on, Eimi nodded, and said, "I already know what I'm going to put in my article. But all I need you to do now is dance with a man, just for show."

Sakura gave Syaoran a nervous look. Eimi noticed this, and spoke. "Is there a problem? Because if there is, there's no need for me to make this article, really," Eimi insisted.

Not wanting Sakura to turn down an offer to be put in a newspaper, Syaoran spoke for her and said, "No, of course there's no problem. Princess Sakura and I just have...Somethings to discuss. Is there any man in particular that you would like her to dance with?"

"Well..." Eimi said, as she looked at the men at the room with an interested eye. "That one," she said, as she pointed to a man just a few feet away from them. To Sakura's surprise, she was pointing at Kenji Oruto. There was no way she was going to dance with him. She was just about to turn the article down, when Syaoran spoke for her once again.

"Of course she will!"

"That's right! I will not - WHAT?" Sakura screamed.

Laughing nervously, Syaoran pulled Sakura into a corner of the dance floor. He held his hand over her mouth, and kept it there until she finally shutup and let him speak his peice. She wasn't too happy about his descision. She glared at him the whole time he was talking.

"Sakura, dance with him." He insisted. "I mean, It's no big deal. How can you turn down an article about yourself? I mean, this could be good publicity for you."

"Do I even need good publicity? Everyone here knows that I'd never treat anyone badly, so why on earth would they need me to dance with a man for an article in a newspaper?"

"Sakura," Syaoran said calmly, "It's just for show. Dance with him for goodness sake."

Syaoran had no idea what he was saying. That was the last thing he wanted her to do. He was afraid that the jealousy in him was starting to show, so to cover up, he tried to make it look like he had no problem with Sakura dancing with another man.

Sighing in defeat, Sakura agreed to dance with Kenji. Syaoran watched with jealousy. It had been so long since Sakura danced with anyone other than Syaoran. Her first slow dance was with him, even her first kiss. Syaoran had the right to be jealous, but why was he in the first place?

"So..." Kenji began, as Sakura and himself waltzed through the ballroom. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to a social gathering held in my Father's Palace. I'm sure - "

"With all do respect, Oruto-san, I'm not interested," was Sakura's short reply. Not wanting to hear any lame excuses as to why she should go with him, Sakura left Kenji, and went to her Father, who was innocently watching people have fun on his throne.

"Hello, father." Sakura greeted, as she kissed him on the cheek. "This ball was a great idea,"

Fujitaka replied, "Thank you, daughter." He then looked her up and down to see what she was wearing. "Good Lord, what are you wearing?"

Fingering her clothes, Sakura looked down on him with an angry face. "Don't you like it, father?"

"Like it..." Fujitaka began, "Like it? I love it, Sakura. That dress looks absolutely stunning on you. You're Mother would be in awe if she saw you wearing her wedding dress,"

Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot, and her Father laughed as he brought his hand up to her cheek. "I see that you and Prince Syaoran are finally starting to get along," he commented.

Sakura's face brightened up, "We are, kind of, I guess. So does that mean we can move out of the cottage?"

Fujitaka chuckled. "Nice try."

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**Hope you liked it! Au revoir :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	15. Touya's Surprise Inspection

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty! _

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter fifteen!

**Touya's Surprise Inspection**

Sakura woke up on her bed. Well, not her bed, but she woke up on _a_ bed. She lifted her face, and saw Syaoran, still fast asleep, with his arm around her tiny waist. Sakura smiled, and cuddled closer to him, and all the things that had happened the previous night came flooding back to her. She yawned in delight, and fell back into a deep sleep into Syaoran's arms.

Feeling her head fall, Syaoran lifted his, and saw Sakura, already asleep. He smiled also, and tightened his hold around her waist. A feeling of comfort that Sakura was never scared or shy to feel. Especially if that comforting feeling came from Syaoran.

Then he remembered what had happened. It was funny, really. After the ball, things just seemed to get better between the two than before. And Syaoran was extremely glad about that. So, in such a good mood, Syaoran didn't feel like working that day. He simply lowered his head onto Sakura's, pulled the blanket higher onto their two bodies, and fall asleep.

It was yesterday, at about midnight, when Syaoran and Sakura left for the cottage. They had a splendid time at the ball, and couldn't, and _wouldn't_ stop smiling. Being in such a happy mood, Syaoran sent away the other coachman with the carriage, so him and Sakura could just ride in one. Neither of them wanted to be alone on such a great night.

Still pumped up after the ball, Sakura sighed loudly, and looked over to Syaoran, who was watching her intently with a smile on his face also. His cheeks were pink from dancing so much, and that made him look incredibly adorable. Sakura didn't seem to fail to notice.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Sakura asked.

"I had a great time! What about you?" Syaoran replied, turning the conversation towards Sakura.

"The feeling is mutual!"

They both began to laugh, as the carriage made it's way through the village, past the dimly lit houses, and the closed stores. During the evening, the houses seemed like sleepy buildings, all in rows, ready to hit the hay because of such a long day. The village seemed even more beautiful in the night than it did in the morning or afternoon.

As the carriage turned a corner, and passed one of the only open stores, Sakura glanced out her window, and looked back at Syaoran. He didn't seem to be tired at all. Sakura didn't seem tired either. That's when it hit her. She thought that if neither of them were feeling tired, than they would make...Certain stops at certain stores. The open ones of course. It was just a way to make the evening more fun than it already had been.

"Stop!" Sakura said, immediately after the idea struck her.

The carriage suddenly stopped abruptly. Sakura lunged forward because of the impact, and within the blink of an eye, found herself in Syaoran's arms. Not knowing how to react to his, Sakura lifted her head, and just stared into his amber eyes, not saying a word. Feeling the same way as Sakura, he stared back into her emerald ones, and didn't speak. She saw his cheeks turn pink, but just as quickly as she had fallen into his arms, the colour had gone.

"I...I..." Sakura began. She had absolutely no idea what to say.

Suddenly, Sakura heard a voice at the back of her head. More like the front, but whatever. Syaoran heard it too. It sounded like a cough. More like a clearing of the throat. Kind of like both happening one after the other.

"Ahem!" They both heard. "Cough, cough. Ahem!"

Shaking her head back and forth more quickly than a humming bird's wings, Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, and ripped her gaze away from Syaoran, to behind him. She realized that it was the coachman making all the noises, trying to get their attention.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. You told me to stop?" the coachman addressed politely.

"O - Oh, yes! I did," Sakura replied, getting back into her original seat, away from Syaoran's arms. "You wouldn't mind if we made a few stops here and there, would you, kind Sir?" Sakura asked.

"Not at all, Miss Sakura. After all, it _is_ my job to take you where ever you wish to go," the coachman replied, bowing only his head down, since there wasn't enough room to actually stand up and bend his upper body.

"Thank you! What may I ask is your name, Sir?" Sakura said.

With his head still down, the coachman replied, "Richard Malick, Miss."

"Oh..." Sakura said, stroking her chin. "Malick-san, would you please wait out here, while Prince Syaoran and I go into that store?"

"Of course, Miss!" Richard said, as he opened the carriage door, and closed it behind the two as they stepped out. They headed towards the store that Sakura had seen as they passed by it in the carriage.

"What is this?" Syaoran asked, obviously curious as to why she had made Richard stop. "I thought we were going back to the cottage,"

"Oh no," Sakura said, taking his hand to quicken his pace. "We're going to the candy store!"

"C - Candy store?" Syaoran asked. "What for?"

"To keep us in our happy mood!" Sakura replied. She began to run, and with Syaoran's hand in hers, he ran also.

They entered the store, and a little ding was heard from the bell above. Sakura sucked her breath in loudly, and gaped at what she saw. This was her first time going to a candy store in so many years. Being a Princess, she wasn't exactly allowed to roam around the village and go to the candy store any time she pleased. Syaoran would have been able to do those kinds of things. If his Father were alive. But ever since his Dad died, his Mother became abnormally over protective.

Both still gaping at the sight infront of them, Syaoran and Sakura ran their hands through glass jars filled with candies. Colours and colours of different kinds of candies were seen throughout the whole store, and newly rapped and placed sweets were lined across the many shelves. A children's fantasy home, and one of Sakura's favourite places.

"What would you like to buy?" Syaoran asked Sakura.

"Oh my goodness...There are so many things to choose from!" Sakura replied.

"I want these," Syaoran said, as he picked up a jar filled with purple squared candies. It had been Syaoran's favourite candy since he was a little boy. He'd never tasted them in a very long time.

Sakura examined the jar, and shook her head in disagreement. "No, no. I want _these_," Sakura said, as she picked up a jar also. Inside the jar were circled candies, with all the colours of the rainbow. They looked a lot more tastier than Syaoran's choice of candy, but they all tasted equally sweet, and equally yummy.

"No," Syaoran said, shoving his jar into Sakura's face. "_These!_"

"No!" Sakura screamed, shoving _her_ jar into _his_ face. "I want these ones!"

"No!"

"No!"

They argument went on and on. They didn't stop fighting until the store clerk had broken them apart. He asked them if they wanted any help, and they asked him which candy tasted better. He couldn't decide. If he chose one over the other, either the Prince would get mad at him, or the Princess would get mad at him.

"These ones, right?" Sakura beamed, as she shook the jar.

"No! These ones!" Syaoran protested.

Exasperated, the store clerk rubbed his wrinkled forehead. He seemed quite tired of their arguing. He was already working very late. So, he helped them make a decision. If they didn't like it, the night would be longer than he had hoped.

"Please!" the store clerk begged, as he held his hands up for them to stop. "Why don't you just buy them _both_?"

"I -"

"I -" They both began at the same time. Turning to face each other with the jars still in their hands, they both blushed tomato red, and nodded in agreement. The store clerk sighed in relief, and walked back to the counter so they could buy it.

"Wait!" Sakura said, as she grabbed Syaoran's shoulder. "Is this seriously all you want to buy?" Syaoran nodded. Sakura's mouth dropped, and she gaped at him for the maximum of about five seconds. "You can't be serious! I don't know about you, but I'm getting more!" she said, as she bounced away from Syaoran to other parts of the store where she selected what she wanted to buy. Money was one of the many advantages you had when you were a Princess.

Syaoran smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. The night was going to be a very long one.

When Sakura had finally finished, both of them were carrying large bags filled with Sakura's candy. They hoisted them onto the carriage, and once seated, they both began to rip the bags apart, chewing and biting like wild animals. It seemed this did not annoy Richard, but he was actually quite amused. It wasn't often he got to take Prince's and Princess' around the village with such great attitudes.

"To the cottage!" Sakura said dramatically, as she pointed into the direction of the cottage. Richard laughed, and so did Syaoran. The night was turning out to be a pretty good one for all three of them.

After arriving at the cottage, Sakura and Syaoran hopped out, with their left over candy. Surprisingly, they had eaten more than they had meant to, and only had about three bags left. Disappointingly to Sakura, one of them was only half-full.

Now on a sugar-high, Sakura jumped up and down on her bed, making the springs make a squeaking noise. The squeaking noise was soon accompanied with her voice. Syaoran watched her in amusement, as her yellow dress lifted with her, everytime her feet touched the bed. And then he began to wonder. During the ball, his Mother told him that Sakura was wearing _her_ mother's wedding dress. It was the oddest wedding dress he had ever seen. Was it actually a _wedding_ dress? He wasn't sure, so he asked Sakura.

"Sakura!" Syaoran said, trying to get her attention. He was trying his best, but through the squeaking noises the bed springs were making, and Sakura's singing, his voice simply wasn't heard at all.

"Sakura!" He screamed once more, "Sakura! Get down from - AHH - mmff!"

Suddenly, Sakura came toppling down on him. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Sakura on top of him. She gave out a loud yelp, but was soon silenced when her lips suddenly fell on Syaoran's - something she didn't think would happen.

They lay wide-eyed, frozen in that one position. Sakura found herself getting enticed by Syaoran's amber eyes more than often during that night. The same for Syaoran. She didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to move her lips, and make it an _actual_ kiss? After all, her lips were only on _top_ of his. It wasn't really a kiss...But not if she made it one. But was that what he wanted? Was that what _she_ wanted? She didn't know. Whether or not she was going to move her lips, she never got the chance, as Syaoran placed the palms of his hands on either side of her cheeks, and lifted her face.

"Um...Um...I - " Sakura began. It was deja vu all over again.

"What the hell was that?" Syaoran asked calmly, as he stood up and dusted himself off. Sakura followed suit, and began to explain what exactly happened.

"Er…The…The bedsprings! T - They k - k - kind of b - b - broke..." Sakura stuttered, still dazed and surprised of what just happened. Syaoran seemed to be acting normally. Why was that, when she was acting like a total ignoramus?

"Oh..." Syaoran said in realization. "Are you okay?" he asked, remembering that what had just happened actually _was_ kind of dangerous. Not really, but he still had to make sure.

"Y - Y - Yes! I - I'm fine! Of course I am! Why - Why wouldn't I be?"

Syaoran shrugged. "I don't know. Just wondering,"

Sakura laughed nervously. Being uncomfortable in his presence, Sakura moved away, and walked towards the bedroom window, with her back away from him. She could feel his eyes on her, watching, waiting for what she would do next. That didn't make things any better.

Sakura sensed him move toward her. "So," Syaoran began, taking more stepts closer to her. "My Mother told me that that's _your_ Mother's wedding dress. Is that true?" he asked, suddenly appearing beside her. He looked down to the top of her auburn hair. He was quite taller than her.

"U - Um, y - yes. It is,"

"Oh really?" Syaoran asked, now interested in what they were talking about. "No disrespect or anything, but that has to be the most peculiar wedding dress I've ever seen. Aren't wedding dresses supposed to be white? Silky? And not yellow with a corsette on the top?"

Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot with the memory of her Mother. Her Mother was such a free spirit. Always rebelling from what other people thought was in style. Always doing her own thing, and not what other people wanted her to do. Sakura had always taken pride in inheriting that from her Mother. It was something she hoped was hereditary.

"Yes, well," Sakura began, turning to face Syaoran. "She liked to be different. She didn't want to wear what was so common back then. My Grandfather had made this dress for her. He died before he ever got to see her wear it. And because she knew he was going to be there for her wedding, watching over her, she thought she'd wear it, and let him know how much she really loved it. My Father didn't agree to it at first. He thought she should've worn what most Brides do."

"Oh..." Syaoran said.

"When he found out what it meant to my Mom to wear that dress, he gave in."

"Wow..." Syaoran sighed. "You're parents must've been really in love."

A blush found it's way onto Sakura's cheeks once again, as she thought of how her parents were so deeply in love. From what she could remember, her parent's marriage could've stayed strong until a new life form appeared on earth. They could never break apart. It was the exact marriage that Sakura wanted to have. With any man at all, just as long as she loved him like her Mother did to her Father, and vice versa.

"They were," Sakura replied.

The two remained in silence for a few minutes. Through the darkness, Sakura was able to hear the burp of a frog, and a cricket singing. The moon shone as brightly as ever on that October night. It was definitely a sight to see.

Tired of being in such a silence, Sakura sighed loudly, and made her way towards her drawer. "I guess I'm off to bed!" she said, grabbing some pajamas out of the top drawer. She started to pull the dress off of her, but stopped. She lifted one eyebrow at Syaoran, and said, "Do you mind?"

Realizing what Sakura meant, Syaoran turned around, and waited until Sakura gave the "okay". Suddenly, he began to take his shirt off, and Sakura gave out a loud yelp. "What are you doing?" she screamed.

"I'm getting into my underclothing...What?" Syaoran replied, confused as to why she was being so childish.

"Well...You could at least warn me so I won't think you're stripping!"

Syaoran chuckled. In just a few seconds, he was in forest green boxers. He blew out the dimly lit candle on his bedside table, and tucked himself in as tightly as he could. October was starting to become a rather cold month.

Sakura stood at the foot of his bed, watching Syaoran. He noticed this, and sat up on his bed. "What?" he asked.

"My bedsprings are broken. Remember?"

Syaoran gave out a groan. Sakura heard him shuffle over onto the other side of the bed, and she saw the movement of his blanket being lifted from one side, so half of the bed was not covered. "Come on," Syaoran said, as he motioned for her to join him. "I guess you're in my bed tonight,"

"What?" Sakura asked, sitting down beside him. "No, I can't let you. Where are you supposed to sleep?" She refused to let him give his bed to her to sleep on. She wasn't that selfish.

"I'm fine on the floor," he replied.

Sakura shook her head. "The floor? No. That wouldn't be fair." She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting across the room back and forth. "Why don't you just sleep in the bed with me?" Just as Syaoran pulled a face as if to protest, she spoke again, "It's not like we're so immature as to not be able to sleep in the same bed together as...you know, just...people."

"You won't be uncomfortable with that?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Well...no."

Syaoran shrugged. "Alright then."

"Alright then," she repeated briskly, as she got into bed beside him, and threw the blanket covers over top of her. She waited in silence for a while, just in case Syaoran was going to move around because he was uncomfortable. He didn't. She took that as her cue to wrap her arm around his waist.

"Sak - " Syaoran began.

" - I'm sorry," Sakura interrupted, her arm going back to its original place beside her. "I shouldn't have done that. I should've known that it would make you uncomf - "

"- No," Syaoran said, cutting her off, and taking her arm and wrapping it around his waist again. "I was just going to say goodnight," he explained.

"Oh..." Sakura said in realization. "Well...Goodnight,"

"Yeah," Syaoran replied, a hint of sleepiness in his voice. "Goodnight,"

_**xxxxxx**_

Which brought them to where they are now, wrapped in each other's arms, snug and sound asleep. The morning sun shone brightly through the windows, and the burping frog and the singing cricket could be heard no more. Only the content laughter of the blue birds. Besides that, it was a quiet morning.

And that's when they both heard it. The front door opened and closed. Large, heavy footsteps roamed around the cottage...Their names being called. They had such little time to react when their bedroom door suddenly burst open, revealing a surprised Touya.

Their eyes snapped open, and they sat, bolt up straight on the bed. "What in bloody hell is going on in here?" Touya bellowed loudly, seeing Syaoran's clothes on the floor, him only in boxers, and his little sister in bed with him. Their arms automatically retracted from each other's waist, and both were speechless.

"Listen here you Chinese-gaki," Touya hissed, "You have to the count of ten to get out of that bed with my sister,"

Hearing the warning, Syaoran slowly swung his left foot over his side of the bed. "One," Touya counted. Syaoran cautiously swung his other foot over the bed. "Two," He heard Touya say. He was just about ready to stand up, when all of the sudden, he heard, "TEN!"

That's when Touya lunged at him.

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Happy Early St. Patrick's Day!

**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD


	16. Of Bathing and Screaming

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter sixteen!

**Of Bathing and Singing**

The events of that morning still rattled Sakura to the bone. She had never seen her brother so angry. There always was a first time for everything.

"One...two...TEN!" Touya had bellowed, as he lunged for Syaoran's neck.

"Touya! No!" Sakura screamed, as she stepped infront of Syaoran. "It's not what you think!"

"Move out of the way, little sister," Touya hissed. He watched in disgust as Syaoran took his opprotunity to grab the fallen clothes off of the floor and put them on as quickly as possible. Syaoran thought that the longer Touya saw him only in his boxers, the image would stick in his mind with him in bed with Sakura.

"Touya, I said it's not what you think!" Sakura shrieked. She took a few deep breathes to calm herself, and she began to explain. "I...I was being childish again, and was jumping on my bed. My bed springs broke, and Syaoran, being the gentleman that he is, offered me his bed for the night. That's all, Touya! Really!"

Touya narrowed his eyes, and they shot back and forth from his little sister, to Syaoran, who was now fully dressed. He seemed to be a lot more restrained than when he first came into the room, which helped ease Syaoran's thoughts. Not a lot, but just slightly.

"Why didn't he sleep on the floor then?" Touya asked suspiciously.

Sakura's eyebrows came together, forcing wrinkles to appear on her forehead. She looked at Syaoran for help. Why hadn't he slept on the floor? Syaoran wondered the same thing also. Was it because he wanted to be in the same bed as Sakura? Or because he wanted to be comfortable that night also? Whichever answer it was, Touya wasn't going to like either of them.

Sakura swallowed the knot in her throat. She hated it when Touya interrogated her. "B - B - Because I wouldn't let him!" she finally answered.

Touya looked at her with a confused face. "You wouldn't let him?" He repeated.

Sakura nodded. "He was being so generous, I thought that the least I could do was leave some room for him so he could sleep comfortably also...Please, Touya, don't tell Father! Nothing happened, really!"

Touya thought some things over in his head, without removing his eyes from Syaoran. He probably thought that if he ripped his gaze from him for just a second, he'd try and do something else with his sister. Not on his watch though. No, sir.

"Is this true?" Touya asked.

"Yes - " Syaoran began, but barely finished the "S" sound in "YES" when Touya cut him off.

" - I didn't tell you to speak!" Touya snapped.

Syaoran automatically closed his mouth, and nodded for his life.

"Alright," Touya said calmly.

They stood in silence for a moment, thinking of what to do next. Either just continue on sleeping, which was what both Syaoran and Sakura had planned to do, or get dressed, and do housework, just so Touya wouldn't expect anything else to happen because they were too busy. They were still making up their minds when Touya had began to leave the room.

Then Sakura wondered. Why was her brother there in the first place?

"Touya, wait," Sakura said, as she grabbed her big brother's shoulder. He turned. "Why are you here?"

Touya put on a face, as if just remembering why he had come. "Oh. Well, Father gave me an assignment to go to Villanda, and he made me check on you guys earlier since I won't have the chance to at the end of the month...But, it seems to me that you two are doing fine around here,"

"Villanda?" Sakura questioned, with a confused look on her face. "Why on earth would Father want you to go to Villanda?" Villanda was the nearest village to Tomoeda.

"It's a business thing," Touya answered, as he made his way out of the room.

"Okay...Well...Bye, Touya!" Sakura said after her big brother.

He blew a kiss to her, and she blew one back. "By the way," he hollered, "Get your damn bed fixed, kaiju!"

You could practically see the lava steaming out of Sakura's ears.

It was in the afternoon when Sakura and Syaoran began to fix her bed. Touya had disturbed them so much in the morning that neither of them felt like sleeping anymore. He basically shook all the sleepiness out of each of them when he had screamed the way he did.

Sakura sighed in boredom, as she watched Syaoran fix her bed. It was what she had been doing for the past twenty minutes, and she was already bored. She sighed again, and blew her auburn bangs from her emerald eyes. She crossed her arms on the table, and drooped her head on it. What was she doing inside on a day like this? The weather was perfect outside, and not one drop of rain was seen. Why waste her time watching Syaoran?

She sighed again for about the hundredth time. It took her at least two hundred more for Syaoran to snap. "Sakura!" he said quite forcefully. "Will you PLEASE stop sighing like that? It's distracting me...Not to mention annoying,"

Sakura pouted. "Well is it my fault that you're taking such a long time?"

"Is it my fault that you broke your stupid bed springs?"

"Is it my fault you didn't stop me from eating too much candy and getting hyper?"

"How was I suppose to know that I was supposed to?"

"I don't know!" Sakura said, as she got up and walked to the other side of the room. She looked longingly at the forest, and the bright sun. She wanted so badly to run through it like a little girl, and let herself be swallowed underneath the mean glare of the sun, so she could soak up all of it's light.

Syaoran sighed also, and walked over to her. "How about you spend your afternoon however you like, while I work on your bed?"

Sakura looked over to Syaoran with beaming eyes. "You mean it?" she asked quite eagerly. She was wringing her hands together quite harshly. If she weren't so excited, she would've shrieked in pain because she was wringing them so hard.

Syaoran smiled, and nodded.

Sakura squealed like a little girl, and threw her arms around her neck. She lifted her legs from the ground, and wrapped them around Syaoran's waist, and hugged him tightly. Almost tightly enough for him not to breathe. She must've thought that that was exactly what she did, because when she removed her head up from Syaoran's shoulder, he was a bright tomato red, and he looked quite nervous.

"Oh my gosh!" Sakura said, as she immediately let go of him. "Did I hug you too tightly? Did I - "

" - No, no. It's fine," Syaoran replied, rubbing his neck with the middle part of his index finger and his thumb.

"Sorry..." Sakura said apologetically, as she eased herself out of the room.

Truth was, Syaoran wasn't tomato red because of that. It was because Sakura had hugged him in such a..."dirty" way. If he ever picked Sakura up and held her in that position, she would've straight up slapped him. But after all, she DID do it by accident. She had never meant to hug him in such a way. But he was glad that she did.

Sakura stepped out of the front door. She flung her arms out, and stuck her nose high in the air, making sure she took a big whiff of everything.

"Ahh..." She breathed. She took one longing glance at the forest, and with a burst of adrenaline, she was off, running towards it like a mad man. And then, WHAM. She stopped right in the middle of her tracks. Not exactly, because she fell flat on her back in a brown puddle of mud.

"Agh!" she screamed. She lay in that position for a while, in minor pain.

She groaned as she brought herself up into a sitting position on the mud. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and so she brought her hands up to her eyes, and began to rub at them. As if she were just waking up from a nap, she rubbed her hands all over her face, trying to rid herself of sleepiness. She ran her hands through her hair, and all over her body, checking for any bruises or cuts she had gotten in the process of falling on her back. When she realized she had none, she slowly and cautiously got into a standing position. She felt the brown mud ooze between her toes. She loved that feeling.

And then it hit her. She looked at her hands, and saw that they were filthy. Absolutely covered in brown mud. There wasn't one part of her hand that she saw that wasn't an icky brown colour. Then she realized she had put her hands everywhere on her body. She knew in an instant that she was filthy, just like her hands. Being covered in all this dirt only meant one thing.

She needed a bath badly.

So she roamed around the forest aimlessly, searching for the clear and perfect river that she had once seen when she first arrived at the cottage. She began to hum as she searched for it, not knowing where in the world she was heading. All of a sudden, she felt herself step into cold water. She glanced downward, and saw the river, just as clear and beautiful when she had seen it last.

Then an idea struck Sakura. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was awfully bright. She looked from side to side to see of the coast was clear. Realizing that Syaoran would probably be fixing her bed for a long time, and that no one ever stepped into their part of the Kingdom except for Touya and few others that wouldn't be there, she slowly and cautiously, she began to remove her clothing garments.

When everything on her body was removed, she dipped her toes into the river, to see if it was too cold still. The sun had heated it up slightly, making it just right for Sakura to take a bath in. So, she slowly inserted herself into the water, smiling as she did so. When she was fully into the river, she dunked her head in and out, rubbing at her hair and every other body part.

Even though she had basically rubbed herself clean, Sakura just began to loaf around, taking and enjoying her time. She splashed the water in every way, and loved the tickling sensation she felt whenever a fish swam past her legs. She began to sing...It was what she tended to do whenever she was having a good time.

_**xxxxxx**_

In the cottage, Syaoran was just finishing up fixing Sakura's bed. When he stood up to admire his work, he called for Sakura to come and applaud him for it. He called for her again when he didn't get a reply. He called her a few more times until he actually figured out that she wasn't anywhere near the cottage. So he went out to look for her.

**_xxxxxx _**

Singing, singing. Just keep singing, singing.

Sakura shut her eyes closed tightly, and enjoyed the feeling of the summer sun rays beating down onto her back. She figured that she needed a tan, so why not start now? She lay folded her arms on a nearby rock, and let her head fall. That's where she continued to sing.

Sing it all out.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran made his way into the forest. He thought he must've been crazy, because he could've sworn that he heard someone faintly singing from a certain distance. He stuck a finger in his ear to make sure that he was hearing right. He was, because when he took his finger out and walked a few more steps, the singing became clearer and clearer.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura sang her heart out. Loudly, yet gently. Like in a Disney movie, the animals began to gather around her, adoring her fantastic vocals. Sakura never once opened her eyes to notice this. She never noticed the birds singing along, she nevern noticed the scampering bunnies halt to a stop. She never even heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her and her rock while she was singing.

_**xxxxxx**_

With every step that Syaoran took, he could tell that the singing person was Sakura. It wasn't a man, because no man would have such beautiful vocals. He'd never heard Sakura sing before, but he knew for a fact that it was her. Maybe he knew it was Sakura because he'd known her for such a long time? He didn't know. But every time he got closer to her, his ears became enticed, and he wanted to hear more and more. Who knew Sakura had such an incredible singing talent?

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran became so close to Sakura that he could see her bright auburn hair, sticking up above the tall grass and plants. When he came closer, his eyes widened in shock when he saw her clothes, scattered all over the other side of the river, and Sakura, laying on a rock with a bear back. He thanked the Lord that she was lying on the rock so that certain body parts were covered. He didn't know what Sakura would do if she found out he saw things he wasn't supposed to.

He waited for her to rise up in anger and yell at him at the top of her lungs. When she didn't, he understood why, because her eyes were closed. He took this opportunity to listen, and watch her in silence as she sang. He brough his arms up and let his elbows prop up onto the rock beneath him. His hands cupped his chin with both hands, and he watched Sakura until she finished.

Stay quiet, stay down.

Just keep listening to her beautiful voice.

Sakura paused to take a breath. During that slight pause, Syaoran sighed in admiration. Hearing it, Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she automatically threw her arms over her chest. She got into a sitting position, and saw Syaoran with a surprised look on his face. A look that kind of said, "Oh no, I got caught!"

"Oh my, GOODNESS!" Sakura shrieked, as she turned around and walked to the other side of the river. Her hands were still over her chest, and her lower part of her body was still sunken deep down into the water. Sakura was grateful for that. She only had two hands. Not enough to cover ALL her private parts.

"What in God's name are you doing here?" she shrieked, grabbing her clothes and covering herself with them. "Turn around!" she screamed.

Syaoran did as he was told, and began to explain while he was turned around. "I - I didn't mean to! Well, I mean I did - b - but I -"

" - But you what?" Sakura yelled, as she threw on her dress, and picked up tiny pebbles. " - You just accidentally happened to stumble in on me while I was taking a bath?"

Syaoran turned red. "W - W - Well...Yes!" he answered.

Sakura threw a pebble at his back. "LIAR!" she screamed, making her way back to the cottage. Her cheeks were a bright pink colour, not only because she was angry, but because she was embarassed. She stomped her way to the cottage, and threw the door open as hard as she could. Syaoran ran after her, screaming and yelling his explenations.

"I didn't see anything! I swear!" Syaoran said, as he followed her. She was going into the bedroom, and he watched her enter, while he stayed outside. He didn't know whether or not he was welcome to be in the same room as her at the moment.

"You better have NOT!" Sakura replied angrily, slamming the door shut in his face.

Syaoran groaned, and turned around. He slid down onto the floor so his knees were pulled up to his chest. She was angry at him, yet AGAIN. Well, he couldn't possibly blame her. If that ever happened to him, and he was a girl, he would've done the exact same thing.

Syaoran chuckled when he thought about the whole idea. If this was happening to a friend of theirs, they would be laughing their butts off. So that's how Syaoran thought of it. Just a funny situation. They would both get over it sooner or later. They always did, no matter what.

"You have a great singing voice," he said, as he walked away from the bedroom door with a smile on his face.

He heard Sakura say something, and walked back towards the bedroom door. He knocked twice. "What did you say?" he asked, with his forehead to the door.

Sakura opened it up just a peep. "I said thank you," and she closed it once more.

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**Read and Review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	17. The End to A Fairytale

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

**The End to A Fairytale**

Syaoran groaned as Sakura pulled on his sleeve. He tried to stay as sturdy as he possibly could, but failed miserably when he started to lean forward and give into Sakura's brutal tugging and pulling. He guessed his right sleeve was wrinkled to the bone, and if he kept on walking the way he was, with Sakura pulling as hard as she good, there would be no more sleeve to pull on.

With a louder groan, he tore his arm out of Sakura's hands, and glared at her. He gave what sounded like a growl, and narrowed his eyes towards her. "I don't want to go to the bloody beach!" he screamed.

Sakura smiled innocently, as if she hadn't been dragging Syaoran's sorry butt to the beach for the past twenty minutes. "You say that _now_," Sakura said, with a mischievous smile plastered on her face. She walked towards him slowly, and cupped his face with both hands. Not in a loving way, but in an annoying way.

She pinched his cheeks, and made Syaoran mumble out a "noooo!" She giggled, and continued to treat him like a baby. "Is the little baby angry?" she teased, as she moved his with her hands on each side. Thankfully, she let go of Syaoran's cheeks, and hit him playfully on the arm. "Come on, Syaoran. The beach won't be so bad! Please, just come on!" Sakura pleaded.

Syaoran rolled his eyes, and trailed slowly behind her, letting her know full well that he did not want to be at the beach at this moment. He honestly just would've stayed at the cottage, and packed what was left in his drawer. That day was the very last day that they would sleep at the cottage, and they still needed to do lots of packing.

"I still don't know why we're here in the first place!" Syaoran hollered from behind her. Sakura waved the comment away, and continued to make her way towards the beach. If she was correct, it was only a few more minutes until they would reach the sandy shores.

"We're going to the beach to celebrate!" Sakura stated. "We finally made it through the past six months, and I definitely think we have the right to enjoy ourselves for the last day. No cleaning, no packing, no working. Just good, and plain old fun!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes at Sakura's childish behaviour. He kept his hands in his pockets, put on a frown, and kicked a pebbly. It was the perfect way to be acting if he wanted to ruin Sakura's happy mood. He thought that maybe if she was unhappy, they would head back to the cottage and pack what was left of their things. So they wouldn't have to stay the next afternoon. It was plain to see that he wanted out of the cottage - badly.

"We're here!" Sakura shrieked, pulling her skirt up as high as it could go, and began to run around on the beach.

There were big logs lying on the yellow sand, as if benches for people to sit on. Few children were out with their parents, but they definitely couldn't deny that there were still kids. The sun shone brightly down onto the people's heads and on the ocean. The crash of the waves against the rocks made a beautiful noise that both Sakura and the children loved. Even Syaoran couldn't deny that it was a beautiful sight. Almost as beautiful as the sight they had seen when first entering the village for the first time without any palace guards puppy guarding them.

Sakura ran past the screaming children, towards a secluded place on the beach with enough water and sunshine to never want to see either ever again. She dipped her toes into the cool water, and moaned in delight as she just stood there, ankle deep in the ocean, and head thrown back, taking in all the pleasure.

She felt a sudden movement in the water, and her head snapped forward. She looked from side to side, and noticed that no one was with her. But that was impossible, because she knew she felt someone enter the water. She walked forwards to find the someone or something that had moved. Suddenly realizing that there could've been a shark or something, Sakura turned around, ready to walk back to shore as fast as possible.

But what she intended to do was never fulfilled. The minute she turned around, she was staring straight into Syaoran's face. His amber eyes had a certain gleam in them, which Sakura knew was bad news. His smile was mysterious and alluring, as if trying to hide something from her. All of a sudden, the smile turning wider with every second, Syaoran took hold of both Sakura's shoulders, and pushed her into the cold water.

Sakura shrieked in surprise, and being smarter than your average girl, Sakura pulled him in with her, the two landing in a huge splash into the water. Underneath the surface, Sakura's hair was all around her, flowing and waving with the water. Syaoran's clothes rose up from his skin, not being the certain material that someone normally uses to go swimming. Gaping at her with his breath still held, he looked like a fish. Sakura giggled, well, kind of, and just barely stuck her tongue out at him.

Not able to take it anymore in the water, both rose up, shocked to find themselves in deep water. Sakura waved her arms around, keeping her head above the water. Syaoran also. They both began to laugh hysterically, water splashing with every movement they made.

"That was a mean little trick!" Sakura said.

Syaoran chuckled, and began to make his way out of the water. Suddenly, he felt a hand close in on his, and he turned around, with a questioning look on his face. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Sakura, realizing what she had done, automatically retracted her hand from Syaoran's, and blushed bright pink. Her gaze fell down towards the ocean, where she acted as if she was trying to look for something she lost while swimming. "Uh..." Sakura began, her eyes still boring a whole through the water. "I...Didn't want you to go,"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied, reluctantly ripping her gaze off of the ocean to look into Syaoran's amber eyes.

They were silent for a moment, but Syaoran broke it. "Say, Sakura. Why do you like getting wet all the time? I mean...There was that one time where you got the flu, and it was all your fault - "

"Hey!" Sakura interrupted, offended by his words.

"It's true!" Syaoran continued, "Anyway, you got the flu, and it was all your fault because you ran outside in the bloody pouring rain! I mean, even the little kids weren't stupid enough to do it. And then there was just a few minutes ago. When I saw you soaking your toes into the water...And hey! Remember the time when we were six - "

"Okay, enough!" Sakura stated, as she swam her way back into shallow water. Syaoran followed suit, and waited for her answer there. "Well..." Sakura began, "Don't you think that being in the rain is so..." but she didn't continue. Instead, she looked away, and blushed once more.

"So what?" Syaoran persisted, now curious as to why she loved being wet so much.

"So..." Sakura dragged.

Syaoran made a face at her, a face the urged her to go on.

"Romantic!" She finally said.

Syaoran put on a confused face. "Romantic?" he said, in a puzzled tone. "How in the world is that romantic?"

"Well..." Sakura said, swimming back into deep water. "I read this fairytale once that hade to do with a woman, trying to decide whether or not she loved a certain man. To clear her mind, she ran out into the rain, and flung her arms out as far as they could go. By the time she walked back in a dry place, she was soaked in water, and she knew at that moment that she loved the man. From that moment on, whenever she felt angry or upset over him, she would dash out into the rain, and whenever she would be back in her home, she would remember why she loved him so much, and why she'd never leave him..."

"Wait a second..." Syaoran said, eyeing Sakura suspiciously. "My four sisters have read every fairytale there has ever been - "

"No they haven't!" Sakura interrupted.

"I'm exaggerating! Anyway, they've practically read every fairytale there is, and they talk about them so much that it makes me want to vomit...But, I've never heard them talk about that particular one...Are you sure it's a what you think?"

Sakura blushed again. "Oh...Okay, so I lied," she admitted. "But I really was telling the truth about the woman! I like to think of her as a character in a fairytale, because she was exactly what one needed to be. Beautiful, adventurous, and loveable."

"...And who might this woman may have been?" Syaoran asked suspiciously.

Sakura blushed again. "It...It's no one. I mean, you've heard about this woman so much over the past two months...I think you'll be annoyed if you find out who she is,"

"Since when did you care whether or not I was annoyed?"

Sakura smiled, and shrugged. Moving closer towards her, Syaoran looked at her, inspecting every part of her face. He noticed that when her skin was in the sun, she wouldn't get much of a tan. The eyes that he once thought were a foul swamp colour turned out to be a beautiful emerald kind. Her lips were pink and full, never without a smile.

"It was your mother, wasn't it?" he asked in a gentle voice. Without thinking, he reached up, and began to stroke her hair.

Caught by surprise, Sakura looked back up at him, with a questioning look on her face. "Yeah...It was,"

For some weird reason, Syaoran felt the sudden urge to grab Sakura's face and kiss her. To just kiss her without thinking anything, without thinking of the consequences after, to just...Be with her. He tried his best to fight the feeling, but eventually gave in. He went in for a kiss, and the last thing he saw before a huge wave crashed down on them, was Sakura, looking as shocked as ever.

The wave knocked the both of them harder than a usual wave would. They lost sight of each other, as they were crushed down towards the water, probably a good distance away from the other. Sakura kept on bobbing up and down, gasping for air when she could. Syaoran also, except whenever his head was out of the water, he would scream for Sakura, wondering if she was okay or not. Eventually, the wave brought them onto the shore, where they lay beside each other, heaving quite hard.

Sakura got up on her elbows, and looked over at Syaoran, who was also looking at her. Sakura's solemn, red face suddenly cracked a smile, and turned into a laughing, red face. Syaoran always thought that her laughter was contageous, and his theory was proven when he started laughing along with her.

"That was quite fun, no?" Sakura asked.

"Sure. Not the best time I've had, but it was pretty enjoyable!" Syaoran replied, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Sakura giggled, and before she knew it, her nose was buried in Syaoran's face, her lips enveloped in his, and her hands, tangled in his wet, chocolate brown hair.

The sun began to sink low into the clouds, giving off a beautiful pink colour to the sky. All that could be seen on the beach, was two people, kissing passionately, and the beautiful summer sun, sinking down low behind them...The perfect ending to a fairytale.

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**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secrent agent_ xD


	18. The Beginning to an End

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty! _

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter eighteen!

**The Beginning to an End**

Syaoran grunted as he heaved the large box up and off of the table. He set it down on the floor, put his hands on his side, and looked at the sight before him. He smiled in satisfaction, proud of the work that he had managed to finish in just a few hours.

Today was the day that he and Sakura finally got to move out of the cottage that they were so close to calling home. If it hadn't been for Sakura's detour on the way back from the market the other day, they probably would've been at her castle by now, waiting to hear why they lived for each other for such a long period of time. But no, Sakura wanted to go and "celebrate" at the beach. Instead of celebrating, they kissed, on purpose this time, no accident, and anger, just them, wanting to be kissed.

Syaoran remembered the walk back home the other day. He and Sakura had pulled away from each other quite abruptly, and neither of them said a word. It was as if they could read each other's minds, beacuse they both knew that they shouldn't bring it up as a topic of conversation. Sakura soon changed that when they were half way to the cottage.

"So..." she began, her gaze cast down towards the ground, "What was that about back there?"

Syaoran was at a loss for words. He didn't expect for the subject to come up so quickly. Usually, when this kind of thing happened, neither him or Sakura would talk about it for the next few days, perhaps even months, and when they were prepared with an excuse, they would speak about it, and wanting the problem to go away, they'd believe it.

_Oh no!_ Syaoran thought, as he racked his brain for a believable excuse. _What should I say?_

"Err..." Syaoran replied, his voice hesitant and nervous, "Well...When you were talking about your Mother, and the man she loved...I understood why you thought it was so romantic, and I...I..."

"You...?" Sakura insisted, wanting to get an answer.

"I..." Syaoran dragged.

"Got caught up in the moment?" Sakura finished for him.

Syaoran smiled and gestured to Sakura that she was right. "You're right, Sakura!" he had said, "That's exactly it! I got caught up in the moment, that's all!"

_Phew...That was a close one_, Syaoran thought once more, sighing in relief.

Sakura smiled a sympathetic smile at him. "I understand now," she said, walking ahead of him towards the cottage. "Being caught in the moment is something that happens a lot to me. Don't worry, Syaoran. A kiss is just a kiss. It didn't bother me,"

_Didn't bother her?_

He stood, dumbfounded by Sakura words, and watched her enter the cottage.

_Didn't bother her? Who said I wanted the kiss to bother her? I wanted to do anything but bother her! I wanted to... To... Um... To...Oh, heck. Forget about what in bloody hell I wanted to do. What's done is done._

He followed behind her and sooner than either of them knew it, morning came, and it was time to pack what was left in the cottage so they could leave in a carriage, back towards Sakura's castle.

Sakura came bustling into the room with a rag over her left shoulder, and a large box, balancing in her right arm. She carefully set it on top of the box that Syaoran just recently placed down on the floor, and stood beside him, looking at the empty living room before themselves.

Slowly, as if not to alarm her, Syaoran snaked his arm around both her shoulders, and pulled her closer towards him. He didn't mean it in a loving way, but in a friendly way. Sakura understood this, and to show him that what he was doing didn't bother her, she leaned onto his shoulder, and put her arm around his stomach. They looked like the most beautiful couple to walk the earth, but neither of them held each other in that way.

Syaoran inspected what was before him. The furniture, getting dustier by the second caused by the sun's rays. The floor, which Sakura had scrubbed just a few days into the six months they were to live there, and the many boxes and baggages that he and Sakura had brought with them to the cottage, and were now taking back with them to the castle. To him it felt so weird leaving the place that he had grown so close to. He wondered if Sakura felt the same way...His question was answered when he heard a sudden whimper to his left.

_What in bloody hell?_

He looked over to his side, and saw Sakura, crying silently. Well, not so much silently since he did hear her whimper. Curious as to why she was crying, he took her by both shoulders, and looked into her beautiful emerald eyes which were gleaming with tears.

"Sakura?" he said, "What's the matter?"

Taking in a deep breathe, she looked at Syaoran, and began to fan her face, as if that would rid her of her tears. "Oh..." she said quite airily, the fanning increasing speed, "It's nothing...It's just that..." but she did not continue.

"Just that what, Sakura?" Syaoran asked.

"It's just that I'm going to miss this place so much..." she finished.

Knowing how Sakura felt, he hugged her, and patted her back like a baby. "It's okay, Sakura. We're both going to miss this place. Maybe when we're older, we can come visit it again. But don't worry. The cottage will always be here, to represent the toughest learning experience we've had yet," he joked, trying to humour Sakura. It worked slightly, because she did thank him with a giggle.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and reluctantly, Syaoran left Sakura to answer it. He came back inside the living room with a solemn face, and behind him stood three men. The three men that would help them load whatever they had onto the second carriage that would follow the first one towards the castle.

"They're here," Syaoran stated, the solemn look still on his face, as if to never leave.

Her jaw dropped as she asked, "Already?" with a voice as shaky as an earthquake.

"Yes," Syaoran replied, "Already." and he outstretched an arm for Sakura to take his hand.

Unwillingly, Sakura took it, and followed as Syaoran lead the way out of the cottage. For the final time, they touched the old rocking chair and the swaying hammock. For the final time, they walked down the three wooden steps of the cottage. They took a moment to look at what was before them, and tried to sort out their feelings. Either they were happy to leave the cottage, or sad because they had to leave the place that felt more of a home to them than any other castle or palace they've ever lived in.

"Prince, Princess," someone said suddenly, making the both of them turn. Behind them stood a stout coachman, wearing a tail coat, a black tophat, and a very large moustache. "It's time to go," he said, gesturing towards the carriage.

"...Alright," Sakura agreed, getting onto the carriage. She took her place beside Syaoran, and just minutes after she sat down, the coachman got into the front of the carriage. He whipped the horses, and in a matter of minutes, they were off towards the castle. Sakura stuck her head out the window, and saw that the workmen were just getting inside the carriage. She thanked the Lord, because then that would give her a clear view of the cottage.

"Sakura?" she heard. "You'll be okay, right?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded, and stuck her head out the window once more. She took one more longing glance towards the cottage, but her view was soon blocked by the second carriage, just trailing along behind them. Sticking her head back inside the cottage, she nodded once more. "Don't worry, Syaoran. I'll be okay,"

_**xxxxxx**_

After a forty-minute ride to the castle, Sakura was overwhelmed with her feelings. She passed by the shop where she was spying on Sophie and Syaoran. She passed by the candy shop that they went to on the night of the ball, and the beach where they kissed for a third time. That brought back lots of memories.

Caught up in all her thoughts, Sakura did not feel the carriage suddenly lurch to a stop. Syaoran had to tap her once or twice on the shoulder to tell her that it was time to get off. When she finally did so, she looked at the marble white castle and the gardens. Although she missed the cottage greatly, it was a great feeling to see her actual home once again.

With Sakura always at his side, Syaoran walked through the castle halls, towards the living room. He was told by the coachman that they were to meet his Mother and Sakura's Father so that they could be spoken to. Both of them obviously knew what they were going to be spoken to about. They would finally find out why they were told to live with each other for half a year.

As they roamed the almost empty halls, maids and butlers greeted them with happiness. Syaoran and Sakura very well loved in the castle, and lots of people, other than their parents of course, missed them greatly. All they heard while walking in the halls were, "We're so glad you're back" or "It's so nice to see you again!" There were many more. So much more that they couldn't even begin to count.

Finally, they reached the living room. They hesitated for a while, as if deciding who should open the door first. Syaoran insisted on Sakura doing so, but Sakura insisted for Syaoran. Taking the cue from each other, they reached for the door knob at the same time. Their hands brushed, and Sakura's hand automatically came back to her side. "Please," she insisted, "You do it,"

Syaoran did as he was told, and turned the door knob. To both their surprise, they were welcomed into the room with screams of joy and yelps of excitement. Fearful, Syaoran and Sakura eased themselves backwards, out of the room. Unfortunately, Syaoran's Mother took him by the hand, Sakura's Father following suit, and lead them into the middle of the room.

"Welcome back, children!" Fujitaka greeted, as he kissed his daughter lovingly on the cheek, and shaking Syaoran's hand. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Father..." Sakura began, "Was all this necessary? You just saw us last month at the ball!"

"Of course it was necessary!" Fujitaka replied.

Sakura looked over at Syaoran, who was glaring at his Mother. His Mother had invited all four of his sisters to the "Welcome Back" party, and she wasn't even sorry about it. She knew how excited his sisters got when they saw their little brother with a girl. Escpecially with the girl that they thought was the most perfect and cutest match for him.

"Mother!" Syaoran said through gritted teeth, "Did you really find it necessary to bring those girls here?"

His Mother gave him a stern look. " 'Those girls' just so happen to be your sisters! Be a good boy and greet them like a loving brother!"

With one last glare, he left his Mother to greet all four of his sisters, Fuutie, Sheifa, Fanren, and Feimei.

"Hello, sisters..." he greeted, his voice dripping with fakeness. His sisters gathered around him, pulling and tuggins at his cheeks, hair, and clothes.

"Oh, little brother, what are you wearing?" Fuutie asked, pinching at his clothes.

"Eww, little brother! Why is your skin so dirty?" Fanren joined, flicking his skin.

He gave a pleading look towards Sakura, and she soon saved him from his sisters. "Um, hello!" She said, pulling at Syaoran's arm. "I was wondering if you could allow me to speak to your brother alone?" she asked politely.

His sisters squealed with excitement, maybe thinking that she had to express her "love for him" alone. Sakura laughed nervously, and eased him out of the group of girls carefully and cautiously. When finally out of the big crowd, Syaoran kissed Sakura's hand in thanks.

"Thank you so much!"

Sakura giggled, and nodded as her reply.

When everyone was seated, Fujitaka and Yelan stood infront of all their sons and daughters. "Well," Yelan began, "I am supposing that you are probably wanting to know the answer as to why we put you to in such a situation,"

Both Syaoran and Sakura nodded. Fujitaka looked form side to side, as if checking up on someone. Then, he spoke his peice. "Well, we were actually going to start when your brother arrived, Sakura, but...He's not here,"

The edges of Syaoran's mouth dipped downward into a frown. "Does that mean we can't know what that whole living situation was about until a few hours?"

"Well..." Fujitaka said, scratching the back of his head. "You two waited six months...I'm sure you can wait a few more hours..."

Great. Another thing ruined by Sakura's bloody big brother.

"Now, Fujitaka," Yelan chimed, stepping infront of him. "As you said, our children have waited six months already! They have waited long enough, don't you think?"

Fujitaka sighed. "Well...I guess they have..."

Sakura, hearing this, brightened up a lot. "Well then, Father, Queen Li...What is it?"

Getting back in step with Fujitaka, Yelan began to speak. "Well, as the both of you know, it was a learning experience, because the both of you were much too spoiled. Correct?"

Syaoran gestured with his hands to know more. "Yes, yes, Mother. We know all that already now go on and tell us why you made us live together!"

"Alright..." Fujitaka said, "The reason we told and forced you to live with each other was because - "

Suddenly, the living room door burst open, revealing a puffy and sweaty Touya. "- I'm so sorry I'm late, Father! The ship arrived later than we had expected from Villanda, and the carriage was extremely slow. We just - AH!"

Touya was interrupted with his sentence when Syaoran's sisters crowded around him, and began to poke at his cheeks and clothes. Syaoran smirked and was told by his Mother to make them stop. He snorted, and told his Mother that Touya could probably fend for himself. He probably could - just not with his sisters.

Syaoran snorted again.

After literally prying all the girls off of himself, Touya seated himself beside his sister, giving her a peck on the cheek, and then finally paid attention as to what his Father was saying.

"As I was saying," Fujitaka continued, "This may come as a shock to you, Syaoran and Sakura, but...the two of you are..."

Syaoran watched his lips move. It was kind of the same situation Sakura was in when she found out that she had to live with Syaoran for six months.

"The two of you are...engaged,"

...Silence.

One of Syaoran's sisters, though no one was sure about which one, had coughed during the disturbing silence.

Finally, Syaoran had found his voice and the courage to speak. Sticking a finger in his ear, he asked, "I'm sorry?" He looked to his mother and Fujitaka expectantly. "I thought I just heard you say that...Princess Sakura and I are...engaged?"

Both Yelan and Fujitaka stood. Yelan was smiling like an idiot, and wringing her hands together quite hard. Fujitaka had a nervous look on his face. He noticed that Sakura was about to say something, and before she could protest, he grabbed her elbow and took her to a corner of the living room.

"Sweetheart," Fujitaka began, rubbing tiny circles into the back of her hand comfortingly, "please let me explain."

Sakura kept on opening her mouth as if to say something, but she could never find the right words to say. She thought that if she said something, she'd only end up yelling at her Father, which was something she'd never done, and something she would never intend on doing. She also thought that if she spoke, she might actually agree to being engaged to...to...Syaoran!

"F - Father...I..."

"Sweetheart, as your mother was on her deathbed, she had said these exact words to me. She told me to congratulate Yelan, as you know, her very good friend at the time, for having given birth to the latest and last addition to her family. Prince Syaoran." Sakura waited for him to continue. "She told me how she thought he'd grow up into a handsome, charming, respectful young man and how she knew that when he was old enough, he'd make the woman he married the luckiest girl in the world."

Her jaw dropped.

"She wanted you to marry him, Sakura, my dear. Her dying wish was that you marry him."

**_xxxxxx_**

Sakura walked over to Syaoran, who was glaring daggers at his Mother. Yelan was too excited to actually notice him doing so. Too excited to see Sakura pull him away from her, and speak with him in another secluded area in the living room.

"Can you believe this?" Syaoran practically spat, "We're engaged! Since we were five-years-old, I've practically grown up with the woman my Mother wants me to marry! I will not give her the advantage of choosing the person that I will spend the rest of my life with! No sir, not a bloody chance in - ! "

"Syaoran, just - " Sakura said, trying to get a word in. But Syaoran would not let her.

"Look at your brother for God's sake! He looks angrier than the time he saw us in bed together! Have they no respect for their children? Goddamnit! I'm going to be murdered in my sleep by your brother, I know it. I can't believe they never even asked us our opinions about this matter!"

"Because they knew we'd turn them down flat!"

"Exactly! How could they ever engage us like this when they _know_ the way we feel about each - "

"It was my mother's dying wish," Sakura interrupted quietly. This statement stopped Syaoran dead in his angry tracks.

"E - Excuse me?" Syaoran spluttered. "It was her...dying...wish?"

"Syaoran..." she whispered in a voice barely even audible, "my mother...she believed that you would make the most perfect husband when you were just born, a few days before me. Perfect enough for you to marry...well, me." she shrugged unsurely. Syaoran caught her taking a quick glance towards everyone in the room, as if considering their reactions.

It was obvious what their two parents' reactions were. They were happy, very happy indeed, as if they knew something that they didn't. Syaoran's sisters were jubilant, whispering excitedly to each other, probably about future wedding plans when they hadn't even agreed to the engagement! Touya was fuming in the corner, probably planning his murder.

"Syaoran," she said again, in that same, quivering, shy voice, "I know that this is too much to ask. But my mother...my mother wanted this for me. I'd do anything for my mom, you know I would. I can't believe I'm doing this, but..._please_, Syaoran! Will you..."

He then literally placed a hand in front of her mouth. "Wait, Sakura...you're not..._proposing_ to me, are you?" Sakura let out a humiliated groan which would've made Syaoran smirk like the jerk that he is if he weren't in this situation. Instead, he sighed, everything in his mind screaming at him to not be selfish. To just do this for everybody that wanted this for him. For Sakura.

Removing his hand from her mouth, he brought Sakura to the center of the room, coughing a few times to get everybody's attention.

"Everyone..." he announced, holding Sakura by the hand, "with your blessing, King Fujitaka, and the blessing of your son, if I may have it, I'd like to marry your daughter." Fujitaka nodded, and Touya, though unsmiling, agreed promptly. "Well then...Sakura Kinomoto, will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Out of the corner of her mouth, only loud enough for Syaoran to hear, she said, "For my mother?" And then, in a louder voice, "Yes, I will be your wife."

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**Woah, the tables turn. So, Read and Review, and I just might marry you :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	19. I Love You This Much

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter nineteen!

**I Love You This Much**

Sakura shivered as she walked the empty castle halls. The entire Kingdom was coverd in snow, blanketed in white silkiness. The weather had become damp, and the wind became harsher than usual. Snow and rain fell together, making everything look cold and depressed.

Although that was usually how it looked in Sakura's Kingdom, the people didn't act anything like cold or depressed. Ever since word got out that Sakura and Syaoran were engaged to be married the next year, everywhere they went people would congratulate them. Not to blow their cover, and to not show that they were furious happy with the arrangement, they both plastered smiles on, and thanked them graciously.

Yes, Syaoran accepted the engagement. It took him the entire month to adjust, but to his Mother, it was all definitely worth it. Fujitaka felt the same way also, but he certainly didn't reel Sakura into their arrangements while she was kicking and punching, unlike Syaoran. His daughter felt that if those were his wishes, than that is what she would do. Hands down, no complaints. He congratulated himself greatly for bringing up such an obedient little girl.

Sakura shivered once more, and brought the scarf higher up her neck. Knowing where everything in the castle was, she walked the halls with her great instinct, and arrived at a partly opened door, a candle flickering lightly through the darkness. She smiled, entered the room, and giggled when she found her Father asleep in his study once again.

Just as usual, her Father had a book on his lap, with his arms on the table, his head falling on top. She didn't blame her Dad for doing so almost every night. After all, he was the king, and if he wanted to fall asleep in his study after a long hard day of work, than that is what he will do.

She scurried out of the room to find a maid. Fujitaka and herself had decided to give the servants a vacation, since Christmas was fast approaching. If Sakura's calculations weren't correct, then it would only be three days. Once she had found a maid, she immediately ordered a blanket to be sent into her Father's study, and that no one must wake him. The maid bowed her head, and did what she was told, but not before congratulating Sakura on her engagement to Syaoran. It took most of Sakura's strength to try and not roll her eyes. Instead, she smiled her beautiful smile, and thanked her.

Not wanting to hear anymore praises about her engagement to Syaoran, Sakura walked through the halls as quickly as she could. Her heels clicked everytime she took a step, making an echoing noise throughout the empty space. Seeing more servants arrive for duty, Sakura walked faster, hoping that they would not ask her annoying questions like, "When will the wedding take place next year?", or, "Have you picked you wedding dress out yet?".

Sakura was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice her steps becoming quicker in pace. She was basically speed walking when her long gown got caught on the bottom of her shoe. Not having anything to balance on, Sakura tripped, and fell face forward onto...Syaoran?

"Ah!" Sakura shrieked unexpectedly. Her skirt went fly forward with her, because the stitch that held everything together had gotten ripped when she brought her knee up, while half the skirt was underneath her foot. She felt Syaoran's rough and firm hands take hold of both her shoulders, and he helped her stand up.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, looking Sakura up and down. His face suddenly filled with colour, and he averted his eyes quickly from Sakura's body.

"Yes, I'm alright," Sakura replied, but to her, Syaoran didn't seem to be feeling very well. "What's the matter with you?" she asked, walking closer towards him. Syaoran took two steps back, which only made Sakura take two more towards him. "Stop moving! You're face is really red, I'm trying to check if you got sick! The weather's been really harsh, so I'm only doing this for your own goo - "

" - You're skirt, Sakura," Syaoran interrupted, averting his eyes again. He pointed with his right hand to Sakura's ripped skirt, and covered his eyes with the other. Apparently, when Sakura had tripped and ripped her dress, it got more damaged than she thought! A long thin slit ran up her left thigh, revealing her underwear. Sakura suddenly gasped, and whipped the right half of the skirt to the other side.

"Yeah," Syaoran said, with a smirk on his face, "That's what I thought,"

Sakura blushed deeply, and muttered a thank you for warning her. After doing so, both Syaoran and Sakura stood together in the awkward silence. Ever since they found out that they were engaged, they hadn't spent much time talking, but avoiding each other. Although they were both used to the fact that they were engaged, looking at each other just seemed to make them feel awkward.

"So," Syaoran began, his hands shoved into the deepest part of his pockets, "You should get that fixed by Martha," he said, pointing towards Sakura's thigh.

"Yeah, I will," came Sakura's reply, but nothing else. She searched her mind for certain things to talk about. Before, this never seemed to be a problem for her since she was such a chatterbox, but now, with Syaoran, she seemed to run out of things to say. "What will you be doing this afternoon?" Sakura asked stupidly, knowing full well that Yelan was going to take him Christmas shopping.

"Oh," Syaoran said, seeming relieved that Sakura had finally said something, "Mother is taking me into town today to get some presents to put under the tree. I thought she told you?"

Sakura hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Oh, yes!" She exclaimed, as if she had just remembered, "She did! How stupid could I - ? " She noticed Syaoran's sly smirk. "Don't answer that!" she quickly added. Syaoran chuckled, and waved goodbye. Sakura smiled and waved back, and began to make her way to her room.

After just a few seconds, Sakura clutched the damaged skirt into her hands, and angrily muttered to herself never to speed walk again.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran turned to his right, making sure he was out sight from Sakura. He leaned against the wall, and slid down on his back with a great sigh. He knew he had seen Sakura naked before, but the incident that had just happened a few minutes ago was just totally unexpected!

Suddenly, he heard footsteps heading towards him, and he quickly stood up regaining his posture. He saw his Mother turn the corner that he just had, and saw that she was already dressed to go into the village. She slowly raised her eyebrow, and gave him a weird look.

"Hello, Mother," Syaoran said, "Are we going into town already?"

"Yes. How come you're not dressed?" she asked.

Syaoran looked himself over. He looked fine. "Mother, I'm wearing clothes, aren't I? Let's just go into town!"

Yelan gave out a wicked laugh. She had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't seem so loud. When her laughter suddenly died down, she saw that it was now Syaoran was giving her the weird look. "Son, you can't possibly go into the village as a Prince looking like that!" she said as a matter of factly.

"Why can't I go into town as myself?"

Yelan looked at her son, speechless. "Well...I'm sure you can go into town looking like that, It's just that...You would never want to go into town dressed in those rags six months ago," she stated, looking hurt and shocked. She only meant well.

Syaoran noticed this, and smiled as his thanks. "I've changed during those six months, Mother...Now, can we please just go shopping? It's three days until Christmas, and I still haven't bought anything for my lovely Mother,"

Syaoran smiled a shocking smile as he looped his arm into his Mother's, leading the way to the horse drawn carriage. "My, my!" she said, as she giggled, "You certainly have changed!"

_**xxxxxx**_

After Sakura arrived at Martha's, her personal designers, she was in a different skirt, and the ripped one was bundled up into her arms, as if it were a child. Martha looked towards Sakura in disappointment, and took the skirt from her.

"Goodness me, Princess! What have you done now?" Martha said, obviously angry for damaging the skirt that she had made for Sakura just one year ago.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Oh, I just...tripped on it, that's all. As you can see, I made a rather long cut through the side. If it were any smaller, I would've kept it because it gave the skirt a nice look, but it reveals a little too much,"

Martha snorted. "A little? Darling, if you wore this skirt, men would be goggling their eyes at you with drool dangling from their mouths!"

"Or some would cover their eyes in disgust," Sakura muttered under her breath, thinking about Syaoran.

"What was that, darling?" Martha said. She was now beginning to sow the dress back together, and spoke as she threaded the pink string through and through, making all the right loops.

"Oh, nothing," Sakura replied, watching as Martha fixed her skirt.

"So, my dear," Martha said, a suspicious gleam in her eyes, "How are things going with your beloved, soon-to-become husband?"

Sakura sighed, and brought the palm of her hands up to her temples. "Don't even bother to wait for an answer," Sakura said, "You can obviously tell how things are going!"

Martha laughed. "Oh, my sweet, it's absolutely lovely of you to accept the engagement just because of your mother. I'm sure Syaoran didn't take things too well, either, did he?"

"You think?" Sakura replied sarcastically.

Martha laughed once more. They went on to talk about Christmas, and how neither of them could wait. They talked about the weather, clothes that Martha would absolutely love to design for Sakura, although she already had Tomoyo for that, and other things that girls would always talk about.

Sakura left Martha's place feeling happy and energetic. She really needed that talk with Martha, and after having it, she felt like going shopping.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran and his Mother walked through the village, arm in arm, and stared in awe at the beautiful things in display. Just twenty minutes after shopping did Syaoran have his hands full with bags and bags filled with Christmas gifts and items that his Mother thought that she would need - which she probably wouldn't, might I add.

Syaoran moped behind his Mother, his arms sagging with the weight that all the different bags gave. He was just about ready to tell his Mother that it was time to go, when he heard a sudden gasp. He saw Yelan, standing before a window, her hand to her mouth, and her to wide eyes. Syaoran walked up beside her to see what the big deal was, and to his confusion, it was only a piece of jewelry.

"That is absolutely beautiful!" Yelan stated, stepping inside the shop, Syaoran following suit. She had practically demanded for the beautiful piece of jewelry out on display, but the man at the counter simply said that it was not for sale. Yelan pounded the counter with her first, obviously angry that she couldn't get the beautiful accessory. She thought that if she was ever going to convince the man to sell it to her, she needed to be gentle.

"Let's just say that it was on sale," Yelan suggested, "How much would it cost?"

"Queen," the counterman said, "It would be four-hundred dollars. In cash,"

Yelan's eyes widened. But, she couldn't blame him for setting the price so high. She sighed, and simply thought that she wouldn't need to buy it, even though she had a perfectly good use for it. Although she was Queen, and was quite wealthy, she had to pay for certain things, and if it meant saving money and not buying certain pieces of jewelry, than she wouldn't buy it. She began to leave the store, when Syaoran had stopped her.

"I'll pay for it," he offered, taking out four hundred dollars.

Yelan's eyes grew wider. "Son!" she exclaimed, "I don't even carry that amount of money with me! Why would you?"

Syaoran shrugged. "I don't know. I like to be prepared."

But still, the man disagreed and stated once more that the accessory was not for sale. It wasn't until Syaoran offered to pay two hundred more dollars for it that the counter man was convinced. He happily took it out of its display case, and put it in a bag for them. Yelan left with a sly grin on her face, Syaoran with a smile also, happy that he had made his Mother happy.

"Just call that my Christmas present for you, Mother," Syaoran said, as they left the store.

Yelan raised an eyebrow. "My present, son? No, no! That's not my present! That's your present for the Princess!" she said, grabbing the tiny bag from Syaoran, and shoving it into his face.

"M - My present for S - Sakura?" Syaoran asked.

"Why, yes! You made things better for me when you bought it yourself! Because if I bought it than that would've meant that it was from me, but since you did, it's not!"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Mother, but - "

" - I'm sorry, Son, did you already have a present for Sakura?"

"Well, no, but - "

"Then that settles it! This will be the gift for Sakura! Oh, no! That can't be it!"

"And why not?"

Yelan hesitated for a while before she spoke again. It was as if a light bulb had flicked on inside her head, and she had the best idea in the world. Not only did the light bulb trigger the idea, but it made her quite energetic, making her speak quickly and excitedly.

"Oh, it's PERFECT!" Yelan shrieked, dragging Syaoran to the horse drawn carriage, where she began to explain everything to him. "On the night of our Christmas Ball, you will present Sakura with her Christmas present, and also announce that the two of you are engaged! It's the perfecct setting, perfect scene - everything! This is brilliant!"

"Wait one second, Mother!" Syaoran said, unsure about the whole thing, "I thought everyone knew already that we were engaged?"

"Oh no, darling! Only all the servants, our family members, and some of your close friends. Sakura's also. I'm sure that they haven't told anyone yet. They probably thought that it was some kind of big secret. Oh, Syaoran, this is going to be absolutely great!"

"But, Mother - "

"Xiao-Lang, please do this for me?"

Syaoran hesitated. "Fine. I will, but you're going to have to tell me what to say!"

Yelan snorted. "Of course, my love! I'm not going to let you announce your engagement without me telling you what to say!"

Syaoran snorted like his Mother. That was so Yelan-ish of her. "But, you said that the accessory couldn't be the only gift for Sakura. What else could it be?" he asked suspiciously.

Yelan had the same mischievous gleam in her eye that she had used on Syaoran more than once. "You'll see," was all she said, as she told the coachman to take her to the floral shop. On the way, she told Syaoran what he would do, say, and wear at the Christmas Ball. He rolled his eyes when she told him which cape to wear, and when she saw, she hit him on the arm, saying that red cape would go perfectly with his green suit. She seemed to be saying the word, "perfect" a lot.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura was dressed in a stunning sky blue gown on the night of the Christmas Ball. Her hair was up, with the occasional curly strand of hair hanging from her head on each side. Instead of using a nice pink blush, like she did for the costume ball in October, she wore a lovely peach one that mixed in nicely with her skin tone. Her high heels were just an inch high, making her just a little less shorter than Syaoran that night.

Speaking of which, Syaoran was dressed in what his Mother had told him to wear. His green suit, and his beautiful red cape, which descended all the way down to his mid-section mixed in beautifully with the Christmas spirit. Although his Mother basically forced the maid to make Syaoran's skull bleed by trying to comb out his messy brown hair, Syaoran showed no sign that it had effected him in any way. His chocolate brown hair was still just as attractive as it was before.

People filed into the ballroom, and the announcer began to announce them. Surprisingly, the woman that had interviewed Sakura from the last ball arrived, and made her way towards Syaoran and Sakura, who were standing side by side. She greeted them with a warm hello, and began to tell them how well the newspaper sold when Sakura was in it.

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Eimi said, with a glass of wine in one of her hands, "We sold lots of copies! It sold so much copies that I got a raise in my salary! I just had to thank you, Miss Kinomoto."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Juelo-san!" Sakura replied.

Eimi inched closer towards both Syaoran and Sakura, as if to say something quite secretive. "Well, ever since the newspaper came out, so many people have been wondering the same question, but were too shy to ask. So, I decided to step up. Are you two...Involved?" she asked.

"Involved?" Sakura questioned, "How do you mean, 'involved'? "

"You know," Eimi said, "Are you two a couple?"

"As a matter of fact," Sakura began, "We are," and Eimi's face began to brighten. In her eyes, what Sakura had just said was another article for her to put in the newspaper, and a higher salary. Knowing that she would probably tell everyone in the room, and ruin his announcement that evening, Syaoran quickly added something.

"...We are going to announce it later tonight, whether or not we are a couple." he said.

Eimi's face faltered, but she tried hard not to show it - which she failed at doing. "Oh. I see. Well then I will be waiting for that announcement!" was all she said, before she walked away and began to talk to other people.

_**xxxxxx**_

Hours passed until Yelan finally gave the "okay" for Syaoran to make the announcement. He was sweating quite hard, and was trembling like he was naked in the middle of winter. He had remembered everything his Mother told him to say, and the gift he had for her was in his pocket. He was all set, and ready to go. Or so he thought.

You see, Syaoran wasn't the best public speaker in the world. He was bound to have stage fright sooner or later. Sooner, rather than later, actually.

Syaoran stepped up on a small platform, with Sakura trailing behind him. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"You'll see," Syaoran replied. He cleared his throat a few times, but when no one was paying attention, his Mother began to tap her spoon against her glass of wine, making an annoying "tinking" sound. Everyone turned to face Syaoran, and their ears were all his. That's when the stage fright hit him, and every single word that he was told to say by his mother completely left from his mind.

"L - Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to have you hear this evening," he began rather smoothly. He stuttered a bit at the beginning, but, he looked into Sakura's questioning eyes. That, for some reason, gave him the ability go on and speak. Even though he had absolutely _no idea_ what to say. So, he basically winged it.

"Tonight, is a very special night. Not just because it is Christmas, but, because, I am here to announce my engagement with a special someone. That special someone is here tonight, and I would love for you to meet her, even though I'm sure all of you already have. Please meet my lovely, soon-to-become bride, the Princess of Japan, Sakura Kinomoto,"

Gasps broke out through the entire room. People looked from side to side, wondering if anyone else knew of this shocking news. Chatter began to arise, and Syaoran's voice was drowned. Sakura gave him an angry look from his side, but returned that look, telling Sakura with his eyes that he would explain later. He looked towards the audience, and saw Eimi. He could practically see the cash signs in her eyes.

Yelan began to do what she did just minutes before, tapping her spoon against her glass, and the people's attention was turned towards Syaoran once more. "Yes, yes, I know it may come as a shock to you all, but I love Sakura very much, and to show this beautiful woman truly how much I love her, I have given her a special Christmas present."

The crowd grew silent, wanting to know what he had gotten for Sakura. Syaoran reached into his pocket for the tiny black velvet case, and held it before her. Sakura gasped, and took the box from him. She hesitated to open it, but seeing the suspicious eyes of the crowd, and the pleading look for Syaoran to just open it, she opened it slowly and cautiously, just in case it was some kind of trick.

Inside, was the piece of jewelry that Yelan had seen on display. It was a beautiful bracelet, with pink diamonds hanging from it, carved into beautiful cherry blossom petals. The pink diamonds shimmered into the light, and the entire room gasped, and broke out into applause. Sakura's eyes filled with shock, as she took it from the small case, and brought it up to her face to inspect it. She saw the crowd still applauding, and saw this as her chance to speak to Syaoran about what in bloody hell was going on.

"This wasn't necessary!"

"I'll explain everything later!" he replied.

He cleared his throat a few times, and the attention was back on him. This time, he wasn't talking to the people, but to Sakura infront of them. "My sweet Sakura, each petal on that bracelet symbolizes my love for you. Each petal only goes to show that I love you, this much," he said, gesturing with his arms. He spread them apart widely, and the crowd began to laugh at his cuteness, which was exactly what he hoped they would do.

Sakura's confused face turned into a smile. She too was amused by Syaoran's speech. Not necessarily convinced, but certainly amused.

"But, that's not all," Syaoran continued, "If you only think I love you that much, you're wrong. Men? Show her how much I love her!" He said, talking to some men, up above everyone else on stairs, with buckets beside them. Syaoran signalled to them, and they all nodded, and dumped whatever was in the buckets, out, onto the people.

Out of the buckets poured more pink cherry blossom petals. They showered the crowd, and applause and laughter began to erupt from the large room. The petals landed on everyone, everything, and some even in the punch. It covered the ground almost as much as the snow outside did, and everyone began to play around with them, throwing it into the air as if it were confetti.

Syaoran looked over to Sakura, who was now wearing the bracelet. She looked up into the men above her, and let the cherry blossom petals fall onto her face, and into her hair. When she looked back at him, the petals were tangled in her auburn brown hair, and she smiled at him, mouthing a "thank you so much". She ran towards him, and gave him a huge bear hug. He lifted her from the ground and swung her around and around. Along with the applause and laughter from the crowd, "aww's" joined in. And another word, which Syaoran and Sakura hadn't expected them to chant.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" They chanted over and over.

Sakura looked at Syaoran nervously, to the crowd, and to her Father. To her surprise, she saw him smiling, and Touya beside him, fuming like an angry bull. She knew that if she kissed him, Syaoran would be seriously injured not a few moments after.

Syaoran was looking at Touya also, and he tried hard to swallow the knot in his throat. If he kissed Sakura, she would be the last person he would ever kiss, because he knew what Touya was capable of and what he was not afraid of doing.

Suddenly, while the crowd was still chanting for them to kiss, their parents joined Syaoran and Sakura. Surprisingly, they were telling them to kiss also. They said that if that was what the people wanted, than that's what they should do. They hadn't come this far into the night not to have something exciting happen. So, with the okay, and the assurance of her Father that Touya would not harm Syaoran, Sakura dove in for a kiss.

It was the most exhilerating kiss Sakura ever had from him. Maybe being in front of people while doing so got her excited. She heard the room grow louder with applause, and so she pulled him closer, giving the kiss more warmth. So much warmth that it could have kept them warm during the cold winter.

Sakura felt Syaoran wrap his arm tighter around her waist, and just for a second, that one second, she wished that everything he said to her that night was true.

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**Aww, cute, eh? Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	20. Mother Knows Best, Right?

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts

Now...on with chapter twenty!

**Mother Knows Best, Right?**

After everyone had left the other night, Yelan was more proud of her son than any other time she'd been in her life. More proud than when he had walked his first steps, more proud than when he had gotten high honours when he was being home schooled. What she felt back then did not compare to what she felt the other night. Such pride was filled her body. And some people may ask, "Why would she feel that way when her son only announced his engagement to a whole bunch of people?" And that answer would be, that she had watched her son, not only announce his engagement to a lot of important people, he had proclaimed his love for the woman that would be the most important person in his life.

Of course she knew that Syaoran was only accepting the engagement because of her, and all the other people that want him so badly to be married to the Princess of Japan. But, being his Mother, she knew him inside and out. Even when she was pregnant with him, she knew it would be a boy. She knew him like no one else - even better than Sakura. So she knew, not just by the look in his beautiful amber eyes which he had inherited from his Father, but she knew deep down in her heart that he truly loved her. Not just as a friend, but as something more. Something so much more.

When all the guests had filed out of the room, Yelan ran up to Syaoran in a fast pace. He was in the middle of saying goodbye to all of the guests when she threw her arms around his neck, and began to kiss him all over his face. His groans of protest were muffled by the sound of her big, wet kisses. Everytime her lips made any contact with his face, she would make a big smacking noise, and Syaoran hated it when she did that.

"Mother!" Syaoran whined, grabbing a hankerchieft from his pocket, "What was that for?" and he began to wipe all the lipstick stainds from his cheeks.

Yelan gave him an angry, and displeased look. "Xiao-Lang, are you using a tone with your Mother? What have I told you about doing such things? I told you that..."

"If I ever do any of those horrible things, you'll be making yourself look bad, not just yourself, but your entire family. I know, Mother. I know! And I'm sorry, I just wanted to know why you were kissing me to death. You know you almost cut off my air supply with your grimy hands all over my face?" Syaoran said, mimicking his Mother's voice in the beginning of his sentence.

Yelan looked at her hands, and inspected them thoroughly. "Why, Xiao Lang...My hands don't appear to be grimy..."

Syaoran smacked himself in the forehead. "Nevermind, Mother. Now, do you mind explaining to me what your death kisses were all about?"

Yelan smiled and kissed him once more on the cheek. "Oh, son! I was so proud of you up there! When you were on that platform, you captivated the eyes and hearts of everyone that was listening to you! You really gave it your all, and everyone was just so pleased with your performance! Honestly, my idea was just terrible! I'm glad you went with your own thing," Yelan paused, and shuddered at the thought of her horrible idea. "Ugh, just handing Sakura the bracelet and showering her with all those cherry blossom petals? Pathetic! That 'I love you this much' part was absolutely fantastic!"

Syaoran snorted, and looked at his Mother disbelievingly. "Mother, you're speaking as if I were an actor in a play. But then again, I kind of am." He added thoughtfully. "It's not like I actually love Sakura..." and he trailed off, caught up in his many thoughts.

Was what he said true? Yelan didn't seem to think so. She smirked at her son's poor knowledge of his own heart and feelings. Even she knew that he would come to love her as a wife eventually. But just like loving Sakura as more than a friend would take time, so would realizing it.

Suddenly, someone came up from behind Syaoran, and covered his eyes. He could definitely recognize the softness of the fingers, and the cold feeling he had against his cheek. The cold feeling came from the pink cherry blossom carved petals dangling from the bracelet he had given to Sakura that evening. He instantly knew it was her.

"Sakura," he said, placing his hands on top of hers, and removing them from his eyes. "What is it?" After her tiny hands were off of his eyes, she expected for Syaoran to let them go. But he didn't. He held onto them, as if he'd never let them go. Was she just looking too much into how Syaoran held her hands, or was he really holding them the way she thought he was?

"Oh," Sakura said, "I wanted to give you my present now...I'm sorry to interrupt whatever conversation you and your Mother were having," Sakura added politely, looking to Yelan's direction. She walked towards her, and held a small, velvet case before her. "I'm sorry, Queen, I forgot to give you your present. I would have given it earlier, but I was attacked by everyone wanting to know details about the wedding," she said apologetically.

Yelan smiled. She knew she always liked Sakura. Even though she called Syaoran such crude words, she knew that underneath it all, Sakura never really meant any of it. She took the box from her, and said, "Why, thank you so much, darling! It's absolutely sweet of you to do such a thing," and she wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulders into what was no doubt a warm hug. "I have a present for you also,"

"Oh really?" Sakura said, eager to receive her gift, "May I have it now?"

Yelan shook her head. Syaoran could've sworn he saw a mischeivous look in his Mother's eyes. And that was never good. "No, darling. Not now. But maybe sometime later tonight. I'm sure you'll like it...Perhaps even love it."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "I'm sure I will!" And without a moment of hesitation, Yelan left the two where they were standing as quickly as she could, so they could spend as much time together as soon as possible.

Sakura dragged Syaoran into his bedroom, where they could be able to have a little privacy. The room was dimly lit, and only two candles were shining brightly through the darkness, flickering wildly as the wax began to melt. The beautiful stream of light provided by the night stars shone through the three windows in his room, giving a shadow to everything in there was.

The room was so cosy and quiet, that both Syaoran and Sakura felt the need to speak quietly. Neither of them spoke in a tone higher than a whisper when Sakura had finally handed her present to Syaoran. "Here," she said shyly, handing him a small, cutely wrapped box. He could tell she wrapped it because it was quite messy around the edges, and Sakura wasn't exactly the best when it came to wrapping gifts.

It wasn't until Sakura had told him to do so that he tore the wrapper off. The pieces of wrapping paper fell to the floor without a sound, and without hesitating; Syaoran opened the tiny brown box, only to reveal before him a cyrstal. Not just an ordinary crystal, but also a wolf carved into one. The wolf was on it's hind legs, his upper body and nose, rising upward. It was suppose to be a wolf, howling towards the moon. Syaoran was speechless.

"Sakura...I..." Syaoran began, but was cut off with Sakura's shy and quiet whisper.

"I understand if you don't like it. I mean...I only bought it just yesterday after my visit with Martha. It was kind of last minute, really. But I thought it looked so beautiful on display that I just had to buy it for you! Can you believe that the guy at the counter forced me to pay in cash? I had to run back to the castle, and back to the shop because of him!"

Syaoran chuckled. The way Sakura had bough his gift for him was kind of the way he had bought his gift for her! "Sakura, I wasn't going to say I didn't like it. In fact, I love it. Thank you so much," he said, wrapping his arms around her small, fragile body.

Caught off guard with the feeling of Syaoran's arms around her body, Sakura shuddered at first. But when she realized what he was doing, she kept her hands to her side, and leaned lightly against his chest, and breathed in his intoxicating scent of peony blossoms. He lifted her from his arms, and smiled from ear to ear. "I love it," he said once again, before pulling her in once more into a tighter hug. A hug in which Sakura hoped would last forever.

_**xxxxxx**_

From behind the door, Yelan knew exactly what was going on. She wasn't one to normally eavesdrop, but a Mother has to do, what a Mother has to do. Even if it meant doing something she's never done before...Like eavesdrop on her one and only son.

She giggled at herself, and remembered when she had a love like that. She had only experienced being in love with one man, and that man was Syaoran's Father. Always so strict, and serious about being discpline. Yet, behind his rough and cold exterior, was a gentle, loving man. Syaoran seemed to inherit everything from his Father. Yelan was glad about that also. Not only did he receive his intensity of his lovely amber eyes, he received his astonishingly good looks, and athletic ability. Not to mention a love for sports and fencing.

She was walking back to her room as fast as she possibly could so she could get Sakura's gift ready, but then she remembered Sakura's gift to herself. She was so caught up in all her thoughts and memories that she forgot about the small, red, velvet case in her pocket. Without any hesitation, she plucked it from her pocket, and sat down in the nearest chair. She couldn't help but run her fingers over the soft material before opening it to see what was inside. Her eyes shone with shock when she realized what was in the case.

Shining as if it had just been bought the other day, (which it wasn't, might I add), was Sakura's Mother's engagement ring. As if Fujitaka was predicting the eye colour if his second child, the ring was emerald, and in a circular kind of shape. The light from the hall bounced off of it, casting a green kind of shadow against the wall. Yelan loved it, and promised to herself, right in that seat, that she would never wear it. Not because she didn't like it, but because it wasn't her ring to wear. It was Nadeshiko's, and forever it will be.

She plucked a handkerchief from her breast pocket, and dabbed at her eyes, than blew her nose. It was hard to keep a solemn face when she was being attacked by so many good memories all at once. Dabbing here and there for a final time, Yelan stood up, determined to make Sakura's Christmas gift the best it could be. Sakura seemed to deserve it in Yelan's eyes, after giving up one of her Mother's only prized possessions.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura tucked herself in bed, and sighed comfortably underneath the warm and silky covers. Her thoughts loomed over to the subject of Syaoran, and how he had been treating her for the last few months. Her heart seemed to lift whenever she thought of that, and suddenly, she came to an idea that just couldn't be possible.

Sakura suddenly sat up bolt up straight in her bed, the covers dangling off the side of the bed. "It can't be!" she said in amazement. "I...I can't! No, Sakura. Calm down," Slowly, she placed herself down onto the bed, into her former position, and began to give herself a pep talk. "Calm down, Sakura. He's just a friend. You're mind is just suffering from the heat, that's all!"

And then another thought struck her, and something from the back of her head had scolded her. "It's winter, you moron!" it screamed. Sakura shook the thought all the way to the farthest part of her mind, and let it rest there, until she finally fell into a deep sleep. A deep sleep, which she didn't know, wouldn't last very long, because someone would come later that night to wake her up.

_**xxxxxx**_

By his study table, Syaoran was staring blankly at his Christmas gift from Sakura. The wolf on it seem to be exactly like him. Cold and hard, but when you look closely, you'll be sure to find something beautiful. He sighed, and placed it on a table near the window, where it stayed for the rest of the night.

He changed into his pajamas, and lay quitely on his bed, staring at the black ceiling. He'd never been more bored in his life. Well, maybe he had, but he didn't seem to remember during that time. All he could think about was Sakura, and the present she gave him. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more this preposterous idea seem to be more believable in his mind.

"No," he firmly told himself, "Stop thinking that stupid idea. It's...the heat that's all," and a new thought suddenly bulged from his head, reminding him that it was winter, and there was absolutely no heat at all. But, he ignored the fact all the same, and it wasn't long for him to close his eyes, and drift into a peaceful slumber.

Perched quietly on the table was the crystal wolf, howling at the moon. From behind it was the actual moon, making it look like it really, really was crying out towards it.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura made a noise in her sleep. It sounded like a, "Mmm...what!" but no one could really make out what she actually said. She tossed and turned underneath the silky blankets, getting them so terribly tangled within each other. She had knocked over the glass of water on her bedside table, causing the glass to shatter.

"Miss Sakura!" someone hissed, shaking her.

Sakura answered with a grunt. "Miss Sakura," the person said a bit louder, shaking her harder than ever, "Please, wake up!"

"Zzz...Zzz...Hmm? Ne?" Sakura half snorted, waking up from her sleep. Though her eyes were barely open, the maid could see that her eyes were quite wary, and she did not get much sleep. She could understand why, because she'd only got into bed three hours ago.

"What is it?" Sakura asked once more, a little bit more aware of what was going on.

"Miss, Queen Li wishes to speak with you. She says it's quite urgent, and that you must meet her in the gardens. Something about a Christmas gift that she needs to give you,"

Sakura gave the maid a puzzled look. "The Christmas gift? By God, it can't be past three am in the morning! Can't the present wait?"

The maid shook her head. "No, Miss. She says it's absolutely urgent and you must go as quickly as possible."

Reluctantly, Sakura got up, and uttered her thanks to the maid. She was such in a hurry to go to the gardens, get her present, and go back to sleep that she didn't even remember to put her robe on. She'd only realized that halfway down to the garden, but she didn't care. It'd only be a quick little meeting for her to receive the gift, right?

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura wandered the gardens aimlessly. It was very dark, and she could only make out the shape of the rose bushes, the many trees, and the beautiful fountain, which had cupid holding an arrow, carved into it. She shivered, as she stopped abruptly to stand infront of the fountain. She was getting very cold, and Yelan wasn't there yet. What was going on?

Suddenly, she heard a twig snap. Her head automatically flew to where she had heard the noise, almost giving herself whiplash. She squinted her eyes, to adjust to the darkness, but she could not see anything. She was starting to get creeped out, so in a shaky, and nervous voice, she asked who was there.

"Sakura?" she heard someone say. She instantly knew who was talking to her.

"Syaoran?" Sakura replied, shock written all over her face.

At that moment, everything in the garden lit up. The fountain suddenly awoke from it's rest with water, streaming out of the bow that cupid was holding. All that could be heard throughout the entire garden was the sound of the night time wild life, the flickering of the candles, and the water, trickling slowly from the tip of the bow, down into the bottom part of the fountain.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran arched his eyebrow. "Excuse me? I should be asking you the same thing!"

Sakura folded her arms. It seemed quite odd to her for doing so, because she'd only done that with Syaoran when they were in an argument. She hoped that they wouldn't be getting into one right now, because they're relationship as friends had gotten so much better.

"For your information, I'm here because your Mother wants to give her Christmas gift to me! What's your excuse?" Sakura replied, satisfied with her answer.

Syaoran raised his eyebrow higher, almost disbelieving her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at her with confused eyes, "A servant came to my room and said something about my mother wanting to speak to me. But apparently, she's not here yet." He paused before continuing, "Anyway, what I was going to say was that I just realized that my Mother is sound asleep in her bed! There was no light coming from her bedroom,"

"...Well, that's quite odd," Sakura said, now shivering and clacking her teeth together. "I...I'm so cold! I've been waiting for your Mother for about twenty minutes! If you say that she's sound asleep, they I believe you. I'm going back inside to get whatever sleep I can get. Are you coming with me?"

Syaoran nodded. "Sure, I guess," and he followed her up the steps onto the terrace, and to the big glass double doors which was the only thing keeping them from warmth.

"Let me," Sakura said, reaching her hand out for the knob. The last thing she wanted that night to make her believe in her stupid idea was to brush hands with Syaoran again.

She turned the knob of the door, and it wouldn't budge. She shook them with all her might, but she just couldn't seem to get the big double doors to move. "I - can't - get - these - stupid - doors - to - move!" she said gruffly with a frustrated tone, in between pushes and shoves. She watched as Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Let me do it," Syaoran suggested, placing his hands on top of the cold and cool handles. "You're supposed to pull, aren't you?" Syaoran asked, beginning to pull on them. Sakura shrugged, but she knew that they opened inwards, not outwards. She knew her own castle like the back of her hand.

"Urgh!" Syaoran screamed, pulling, shoving, and pushing as hard as he could. He began to bash his back against the door, but Sakura stopped him from doing anything else, before he permanently damaged the glass. "Why won't they open?" he asked, frustrated and cold.

"I don't know!" Sakura replied. Now, after being just barely thirty minutes in the cold with a silk nightgown on, and nothing else, Sakura couldn't feel her fingers. She couldn't feel her arms, legs, and she could barely roll her hands into fists. Her cheeks and nose became as pink as cherry blossoms, and everything but those certain facial features seemed to be getting paler by the second.

Syaoran seemed to notice, and quickly walked her over to the bench by the fountain. "Oh hell," he said, "Sakura, you're getting so cold! Here, wear this," and he placed his thick red robe on Sakura's shoulders. He patted them down, and made sure every bit of cloth was wrapped around all of Sakura. Suddenly, she shook her head, and took it off.

"I can't, Syaoran," she said, giving the robe back to him, "You'll freeze if I wear this,"

Syaoran protested and handed the robe back to her, "No, Sakura. We don't want the same thing that happened to you when it was raining to happen again, do we?"

Shyly, Sakura suggested an idea. "Syaoran, I can't wear it, not if you are. But...This seems big enough for the both of us, no? Why don't we just...Share it?"

"Share it?" Syaoran questioned.

Sakura nodded, and threw the robe around Syaoran's shoulders, while half of it was still covering hers. She pulled them together on both sides so they were both covered by the huge robe, and pulled her knees up to her chest, while Syaoran crossed his legs. Syaoran had to hand it to Sakura her idea was pretty good. By doing that, they were both protected from the winter's rough weather.

"Er...Syaoran?" Sakura asked, "You wouldn't mind if I...leaned against you, would you?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No, not at all!" and so with his permission, Sakura leaned her back against his chest. It was a beautiful sight, just the two of them, sitting under the moon, the fountain standing write infront of them, and a robe, keeping them warm, but even better, closer to one another.

Sakura sighed, and let her head fall carelessly onto Syaoran's left shoulder. Syaoran smiled at her cuteness, and let his chin drop onto her right shoulder. Neither of them could've imagined each other in such a position, but then again, it felt good, so what did it matter?

"Syaoran?" Sakura said, her eyes beginning to droop, "Promise me something?"

"Sure," he replied.

"Whatever happens," she began, as she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his amber eyes. He looked back into her emerald ones, and waited patiently for the rest of her sentence. "Whatever happens, after we get married...Things won't change between us?" she cast her gaze downwards, as if afraid to look into his eyes. "You know...we'll still be the same?"

Syaoran thought before he agreed to this. He admired the thought of Sakura, not wanting anything to change between them. It showed him how much she actually, really cared for him. And then, he nodded. "Of course,"

And before either of them knew it, they're faces were slowly inching towards the other. Neither of them knew who started it, but they didn't care. And just when their lips were only millimetres apart, they heard a sudden noise erupt from the terrace. They're gaze into each other's eyes was suddenly ripped apart, and their heads flew into the direction of where they heard the noise.

"Hello?" Syaoran said.

A tall, feminine figure stood up from behind a big plant pot, and they both realized that it was Yelan. "Oh, hello there!" she said nervously. "I wasn't...spying or anything, I was just looking for - for my - um, my lucky coin! Oh, what do you know? Here it is!" and she bent down to pick up what Syaoran and Sakura thought from their point of view, was a rock. "Please!" Yelan said, after pocketing the small object, "Don't let me interrupt. Finish whatever you two were doing,"

Syaoran shook his head, and removed the robe from around Sakura. "That's alright, Mother. You weren't interrupting anything. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Mother. Sakura," he said, as he kissed her lightly and quickly on the forehead, as if it was a _now or never_ type of thing. "Sleep tight,"

Sakura nodded, and watched as Syaoran walked up to the terrace. Coincidentally, Yelan had the key, and reluctantly opened the doors for him. Sakura, suddenly warmed by the robe, and the goodnight kiss, was joined by Yelan, who had a huge grin on her face, and an odd sparkle in her eye.

"Hello," Sakura said.

"Hello," Yelan replied.

And then, she remembered the reason as to why she was out in the gardends in the first place. "Oh!" Sakura said, "I thought you wanted to give me your Christmas gift?"

Once again, Yelan plastered on her mischievous smile. "Why, darling..." she said, "You've already received it!"

-

-

-

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**Anyone care to guess what the gift was? Read and Review, please!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	21. Eenie, Meenie, Miny, MOE!

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty-one!

**Eenie, Meanie, Miny, MOE!**

Sakura smiled as the servants passed by. She was currently on a ladder, hanging New Year decorations all over the castle. Much like Syaoran, she didn't want the servants to do anything that was so easy for her to do, so there she was, hanging decorations.

On the bottom of the ladder, was Tomoyo, the beautiful amethyst eyed-girl that had been Sakura's very best friend since she four-years-old. Not only was she Sakura's best friend, but the most into-herself girl that there ever was. Believe it or not, Tomoyo was balancing the ladder from the bottom with her right hand, and looking at herself in a mirror with her left. Luckily, it didn't take much skill to hold up a ladder.

Even though Tomoyo was much to into herself, she was still caring and kind to others. She may seem a little obnoxious at some times, but definitely not selfish or greedy. Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to be the best lady she could be for her Father. She knew that was what he would've wanted her to be, even if he was alive. Yes, her Father was dead. Why do you think Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo grew up with each other? Because they all had that one thing in common: they lost somebody they loved, and they knew how the other felt.

Tomoyo nodded and smiled just as Sakura did with all the passing servants. They were going to have a big feast in order to celebrate the new year that night, and everyone wanted everything to be perfect. So the chef's got cooking, the maids got cleaning, and everyone else was helping put up decorations. There wasn't going to be a lot of people at the party, but people at the castle liked to be in the spirit.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo whined, stomping her foot, "Are we don't yet? I still have to get dressed for the feast!"

"No, Tomoyo," Sakura replied, not bothering to look down at her friend, "Just a few more decorations and we're done, alright? I promise,"

"Alright..." Tomoyo agreed reluctantly. She snapped closed the pocket mirror she was holding, and stuffed it inside her pocket, so both her hands were free to hold up the ladder. She tapped her fingers gently on the wood impatiently, and began to click her feet. Sakura knew that Tomoyo was getting very unhappy, because that's what she always did when she was unhappy.

But someone passed by that made Tomoyo feel joyous. Syaoran walked up towards Tomoyo, and greeted her. "Hi!" he said, hugging her. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you! Where have you been?"

Tomoyo blushed. "I would've come to the castle to welcome you two back from your...well, six month break, but...Eriol took me on a vacation of our own, and...Well, I don't think I need to explain the rest,"

Syaoran chuckled. "No, you certainly don't need to. So you're still seeing that stupid cousin of mine? I'm surprised he hasn't driven you crazy yet. Be warned, Daidouji-san, he'll make you insane if you actually keep on seeing him,"

"Yes, well, he drives everyone but me crazy. I think he gives me special treatment," she said shyly.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She looked up at Sakura, who was only a few feet up from the ground. If she shook the ladder, Sakura wouldn't have any serious injury...Not if someone were there to catch her. But what if someone didn't catch her? Like Tomoyo thought, Sakura wouldn't get a serious injury, but she'd still get hurt. Tomoyo shut her eyes quickly, (she thought better with closed eyes) and opened them quickly. She had made her decision.

"I have to go!" She said, out of the blue. "I'll see you two later, okay?" and she sprinted off down the hall, but not before giving the ladder a huge shove. After making a turn, Tomoyo stopped, and stuck her head out from her hiding spot. She watched as Sakura screamed, and toppled over. Quickly, she shut her eyes, not wanting to see her friend get hurt, but all she heard was the clatter of the ladder, falling onto the floor. She opened her eyes, only to see Sakura, in the arms of Syaoran.

Syaoran held Sakura in his arms. Luckily, he had caught her in time before she hit the floor. He looked down at her, and saw that her eyes were still shut tightly. He could tell just by looking at her facial expressions that she thought for sure that she was going to fall onto the hard ground. Slowly, she opened one eye, and Syaoran smiled at her cuteness. She opened the other eye, and looked down at the floor, the floor that she thankfully did not fall onto.

"Um...Th - Thanks, Syaoran," Sakura said, still shaken from her sudden fall.

"No problem," Syaoran replied, helping her into a standing position.

From behind the wall, Tomoyo smiled, and congratulated herself on her mischievous idea. But she knew, if Sakura had fallen onto that floor, she would have no one to blame but herself.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura walked down the hall, still mildly flushed from what had just happened. She nodded and smiled at all the giggling servants. She raised her eyebrow as she walked by, not even bothering to smile or nod anymore. All - and seriously - all of the female servants above the age of twenty or so, and some even younger, were giggling and whispering behind their hands in their little groups. Their eyes seemed to be darting back and forth from one male servant to another. What was going on?

Tomoyo ran up beside Sakura, and began walking in step with her. She looked her friend up and down, and noticed that she wasn't paying very much attention as to where she was going. She followed Sakura's gaze to see what was bothering her, and her amethyst eyes fell upon a group of three girls, giggling and whispering with red cheeks. She, too became curious as to what was going on.

"What's with the servants?" Tomoyo asked, with a strange look on her face.

Sakura shrugged. "Don't ask me. I have no idea,"

Suddenly, a servant came up to Tomoyo, and bowed. With a slight smirk, the maid said hello. Tomoyo said hello back, and Sakura, just beside her, found out that her name was Linda. Sakura, not wanting to be left out, said hello also, and the maid bowed graciously. Shyly, she whispered something into Tomoyo's ear, that made Sakura even more curious than she was before.

Tomoyo smiled, and shook her head. "Is that what all this fuss is about?" Linda nodded and burst into a fit of giggles, and a couple of girls just a few feet behind them who had been watching, did the same thing. Tomoyo too started giggling, just not as hard. "No," Tomoyo continued, "Eriol will not be at the feast, so unfortunately, I won't be able to kiss him,"

"What?" Sakura asked, confused about everything that was going on.

Hurriedly, the maid left Tomoyo and Sakura alone, so Tomoyo could do all the explaining. "Sakura, don't tell me you've forgotten!" she said. Sakura made no reply, because she didn't know what to say. "Sakura," she continued, placing both her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "It's December 31st! Meaning it's the beginning of a new year at midnight! Midnight, Sakura! Doesn't midnight mean anything to you?"

"Besides that it's the start of a new year, no. Why should it?"

Tomoyo sighed and shook her head, agitated. "Sakura, don't you remember anything we've talked about when we were twelve-years-old? We said that when we were older, and mature enough to do this, then we were going to - "

" - Kiss someone at midnight!" Sakura finished, finally remembering what Tomoyo and the rest of the girls were talking about. "I forgot!" she exclaimed, clamping her hand infront of her mouth. Tomoyo laughed and patted her friend on the back.

"Obviously," she stated, continuing to laugh at her friend.

The two girls began to walk down the halls slowly, the subject of kissing midnight floating further and further away from their minds. Well, for Tomoyo at least. For Sakura, the idea of kissing someone at midnight had dwelled smack dab in the middle of her forehead, and she couldn't think of anything else. She couldn't believe she forgot. She had been wanting to kiss someone at midnight for so long, ever since she was nine-years-old, but never did because it wasn't appropriate at her age. Now that she had the chance, she forgot about it, and she was engaged! So she might as well have scratched everything she said! She can't kiss someone that's not Syaoran when she's engaged! If someone saw, it would make headlines on the newspaper before she could say, "Bloody hell!".

"So that's what all the girls are excited about," Sakura said, out of the blue. She watched Tomoyo nod, and blush as she kept on walking. "What's with you?" she asked.

"Oh, well," Tomoyo began, "You see, Linda came up to me and asked me if Eriol would be here so I could kiss him at midnight. I was just thinking about him, that's all...I really wish I could kiss him at midnight, though. I don't want to kiss anyone else,"

Sakura chuckled. "Yes, well, of course you wouldn't. You love him!"

Tomoy suddenly stopped walking, and chucked Sakura against the brick wall. Sakura began to protest, but Tomoyo had covered her mouth before Sakura could say anything else. Beneath Tomoy's hand, Sakura's lips had curved into a smile, and before she knew it, she was laughing. Really hard.

"Are you crazy?" Tomoyo hissed, lifting her hand up from Sakura's mouth just a little bit. "He doesn't know that yet! Nobody else, either! Do you want the whole world to find out? God, say it aloud for the rest of your life, why don't you?"

Sakura shoved Tomoyo's grimy hands off of her body. "Calm down. You're such a worry-wart," Sakura replied, the smile still firmly plastered onto her pale skin. Tomoyo noticed how she couldn't stop smirking, and became a little angry. Not very angry, but just a little.

"Shutup!" she replied, only making Sakura laugh even more.

_**xxxxxx**_

Tomoyo and Sakura had been walking for only about twenty-five minutes when they reached the terrace, where they saw a group of five girls seated around one big table. Just like everyone else, they were giggling, blushing, whispering, and talking behind their hands. Once catching sight of Tomoyo and Sakura, they quickly stood up, as if not wanting to be caught not working.

Sakura jogged up towards them, Tomoyo following suit. "Please," Sakura began, "Stay seated. Tomoyo and I would like to join you,"

Slowly and cautiously, as if Tomoyo and Sakura were just testing them if they sat down, they seated themselves back in their original seats. The two newcomers grabbed chairs, and sat between maids, who willingly made room for them.

"So," one of the maids began, "Ladies, let's introduce ourselves. I'll go first. Hello, Princess, my name is Maria. The girl to your right is Annie, the girl beside Annie is Beverly, obviously Miss Tomoyo, and beside her is Hannah, and Taya."

Tomoyo and Sakura waved to the servants, who waved back. "We were just talking about who we wanted to kiss at the feast tonight. Thank you so much for inviting us again, Princess," Beverly began. Sakura waved the thanks away.

"Please," Sakura said, "It really was my pleasure to invite all of the servants. You've done so much for my Father and me. You certainly deserve to come to the feast!"

The girls blushed. "Thank you, Sakura," said Taya. "Anyway, who will you be kissing at the feast?"

Sakura groaned, and let her head hang on her side, as if she had just been to the guillotine. All the girls began to laugh, and same with Sakura, pleased that she had made the other girls laugh. "I can't kiss anybody!" she said, bringing her hands up to the temples of her forehead. "I've been waiting for this since I was young, but NO! I can't! And why? Because I'm engaged to that idiot Syaoran Li."

The girls laughed. "It can't be all that bad," Hannah replied. "I mean, why don't you just kiss someone else?" Sakura's eyes went wide at the sentence, appaulled at even thinking that. Sure, she may be marrying someone she didn't want to be with, but she was still engaged. She would never cheat on anyone.

The girls noticed how her face suddenly faltered. "Not that we don't have good intentions for Prince Syaoran," Annie added quickly. "It's just that...Well, we can all obviously agree that you don't feel a certain way for Prince Syaoran that the rest of the Kingdome thinks you do." Sakura snorted, and all of them nodded. "Well, why don't you just kiss someone else? I'm sure he doesn't feel the same way for you, which I don't mean anything rude by saying so, so I'm sure it wouldn't bother him!"

All the girls nodded in agreement. Sakura thought for awhile, and spoke up. "Yes, well, I've always wanted to share that New Years Kiss with someone I love,"

They shrugged. "A kiss is just a kiss," Tomoyo piped. "I mean, it won't mean anything,"

"Well, some of you may think that, but I certainly don't," Sakura replied.

"Sakura, don't be such a baby," Tomoyo whined. "Why don't you just kiss someone?"

"Why don't you?" Sakura snapped. "I mean, if a kiss is just a kiss like you say so, then why don't you just go up to some average guy and kiss him?" a hint of anger found in her voice.

Tomoyo only stared at Sakura, and took a short pause. "You know why I can't," she answered quietly, casting her gaze upon the table. "I'm with Eriol...and I...I love him,"

Sakura smiled, proud that her friend had finally admitted her love for Eriol. Not infront of him, but to a crowd - good enough. Maria, Annie, Beverly, Hannah, and Taya all squeeled with excitement. They all began talking at once, that Sakura could only make out a few words, and she couldn't even tell who said what. "You love him?" one said, "I bet he loves you back!" the other began, "That's so sweet!".

Sakura shushed them up. "Yes, well. I guess you're right. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry,". Tomoyo forgave her, but did not want to dwell on the subject of Eriol. Soon, the girls began to urge Sakura to just pick a man, any man to kiss at midnight. Sakura kept on rejecting and rejecting, but they would not seem to take no for an answer.

"I am engaged, and I am not cheating on Syaoran," Sakura stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

The girls sighed. "It's not like you love him or anything," Beverly said.

They all waited for Sakura to say something, but no reply, not even one tiny squeak came from her mouth. All Sakura did was caste her gaze down onto her hands, as the girls waited intently for an answer. There was a short pause, but there was soon no more silence, because, just like they did for Tomoyo, except Tomoyo was included, they all began to squeel with excitement.

"You love him!" Sakura heard. "You so, so, so love him!", "We knew it! We knew it!"

Once again, Sakura shushed them up. "I do not love Syaoran!" Sakura said, more to herself then the girls. It seemed like Sakura never said anything, because all they did was squeel and jump up from their seats. Once again, Sakura let her head hang off her neck as if she came back from the guillotine.

(A/N: Guillotine is that thing when people are sentence to death, and their heads get cut off with that falling blade thingy.)

"I don't love him!" Sakura yelled once more.

"Prove it," Tomoyo said, with an odd twinkle in her eye.

"Yes," Maria said, "Prove it!"

"How?" Sakura asked, willing to do anything they said just so that they would believe that she didn't love Syaoran.

"Kiss someone. Anyone. At midnight, tonight."

"That's a mean trick!" Sakura snapped. "You just want me to kiss someone at midnight! But I told you, I'm still an engaged woman, and I will not on my husband-to-be!"

"Fine," Taya said, "But we'll only still believe that you love Syaoran,"

...Silence.

"Alright," Sakura replied, more in a grunt than an actual voice. "I'll kiss someone. But what if someone sees? The news will spread like wild fire that I cheated on my husband-to-be!"

"Sakura, it's family and servants only," Hannah chirped, "If anyone sees, no one will tell."

"Yeah!" Tomoyo said.

Sakura sighed. "Fine. But how will I be able to choose who I'll kiss?"

"Easy," Taya said, as she took Sakura's hand, and folded all of the fingers except for the index. "This is how we chose. Close your eyes, and say a little rhyme. Whoever your finger lands on at the end of the rhyme, you will kiss that person. But if it's a girl, then you get to do it again,"

Sakura snorted. "It's that easy, eh?"

They all nodded and laughed. Sakura sighed. "Alright," and she slowly lifted her arm, and pointed it in the direction of all the working men. "What's the rhyme?"

"We'll sing it," Maria suggested.

Sakura nodded, and swallowed the knot in her throat. "Here goes nothing," she whispered, and began to point at various things. For all she knew, she could've been pointing at a slug.

"Eenie, meenie, miny, moe," the four girls sang. As they did, Tomoyo crept up slowly from her seat. "Catch a tiger by the toe," and she quickly ran up to the group of working men decorating the garden. "If he hollers, let him go," She stood, ready to do something she thought was cruel, but knew it was only for Sakura's own good. "Eenie..." Tomoyo raised her arms, "Meenie," she crouched her knees, "Miny..." stared in Syaoran's direction, "MOE!" and pushed him into the empty space Sakura had pointed at.

Quickly, she ran back to her seat, even before Sakura could see anything she did, and before Syaoran could knock the day lights out of whoever pushed him. Slowly, Sakura removed her hand from her eyes, and saw that her index finger had landed on Syaoran. She gasped, and all six girls seated at the table began to giggle.

"I don't believe it!" Sakura said.

"Believe it," Tomoyo whispered. "Because whether you like it or not, you're kissing Syaoran at the feast!"

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura stood, nervous, yet determined in a small corner in the ballroom. She was wearing a long, silver dress which hugged each and every part of her small body. The dress ended at about her ankles, and it had a long, yet small V-neck. Her hair was down, except curly, and there was no occasional loose strand of hair dangling from her forehead.

Syaoran was in his best suit. He stood at the door, greeting people with politen nods of the head, with his hands placed shyly over his back. He waved and glanced around the room, his eyes suddenly falling on Sakura. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked that night. Sakura turned her head, saw Syaoran, and blushed. Syaoran raised an eyebrow, confused as to why she did so when meeting his eyes, but shrugged it off and smiled at her. Just as quickly as the colour came to her face, it drained, and Sakura waved.

Sakura was met in the corner with Tomoyo, Maria, Annie, Beverly, Hannah, and Taya. They were wearing beautiful dresses. Sakura suddenly began to wonder how much her Father and she were paying them for working at the castle! It seemed as if they were Princesses themselves!

"You all look beautiful!" Sakura greeted, hugging each and every one of them.

Tomoyo smiled, showing off her beautiful white pearly teeth, and shrugged. "You look better,". But Sakura could seriously doubt that. Tomoyo was wearing a violet gown, which was wide, and made a round circle around her ankles when it reached the floor. There were no straps, and so the side of the dress curved beautifully around her shoulders. The dress seemed to go perfectly well with her amethyst eyes.

The five girls left Sakura with excited smiles to meet their handsome male escorts. Tomoyo stayed behind, feeling happy because in just a few minutes, it would be the start of a brand new year - yet sad, because she couldn't spend it with the man she loved the most. Sakura seemed to be getting the feeling that Tomoyo wasn't exactly enjoying herself, so she nudged her, and tried to cheer her up.

"Don't worry, Tomoyo," Sakura began, "When Eriol comes back from that trip, I'm sure you'll be the very first person he'll want to see, and he'll be longing to give you the biggest kiss in the world. Like I said, don't worry!" and Tomoyo began to feel slightly better.

"So, are you nervous about the big kiss?" Tomoyo asked, not wanting to dwell on the subject of Eriol and how much she missed him. Tomoyo laughed when she saw Sakura shake her head vigorously from side to side. She could definitely see that Sakura was nervous. "Sakura, maybe you should take your own advice, and don't worry!" Tomoyo joked. That didn't seem to lift Sakura's spirits about kissing Syaoran one bit.

_**xxxxxx**_

"One minute!" the announcer called, "One more minute until a brand new, and hopefully glorious year!" and screams, yells, cheers, and squeals erupted in the big ballroom. Girls began running off towards the men that they would be kissing that night, but Sakura, having a definite plan in her head, stayed put. Tomoyo doing the same.

"Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight," people counted, more and more excitement filling their voices with each number they had called, "Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two..."

"Are you read?" Tomoyo whispered, drinking the last of her sour wine.

Nervously, Sakura replied, "For what? The new year, or kissing Syaoran?"

"Both,"

Sakura shook her head. "No,"

"Well you better be. Just a few more seconds!"

"Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven..." and everyone could just feel the tension in the room. Voices were shaky, yet excited. People were puckering and snickering. Sakura wasn't so sure if she wanted to go through with this after all. But, she'd already kissed Syaoran before, hadn't she? Doing this was going to be no big deal.

"Three...two..._ONE!_"

And everyone began to cheer louder than they had before. People were kissing, champagne was flying from their bottles. People were clapping excitedly, or if not clapping, bear hugging everyone or anyone near them.

And that was Sakura's cue. As quickly as she possibly could, she sprinted past everyone that was kissing or cheering, right towards Syaoran, where she stood, but not for long. He smiled at her, and began to wish her a happy new year, but before he could even finish his sentence, Sakura placed her lips on his, in a kiss no longer than five seconds.

She removed her lips from his, and smiled, almost mischievously. "Happy new year," Sakura whispered quickly. Sakura had said her parting line so fast that it seemed as though she had never said anything at all, and she sprinted off towards the back of the ballroom where Syaoran couldn't find, nor question her.

There Syaoran stood, the same spot he stood when Sakura had kissed him, rooted to floor. He just stared blankly at whatever was infront of him, and blinked, still dumbfounded as to what had just happened a few seconds ago.

_**xxxxxx**_

Tomoyo stood, sighing and uncomfortable as she watched everyone kiss romantically, or clap and cheer with happiness. She was probably the only one in that entire room that was not happy. She probably could've felt happy - if she was with Eriol.

"Maybe I'm being too nervous about this stuff," she said into the thin air, "Maybe I should just...Do what Sakura did, and kiss anybody?" and if somebody heard, they certainly didn't seem to show it because she had received no answer. She took the silence as a yes.

So, Tomoyo clamped one hand over her eyes, stuck her index finger out, and began to chant, "Eenie, meenie, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eenie, meenie, miny - "

"Moe," someone had finished for her. She opened her eyes and noticed that someone's hand had snakishly wrapped itself around her waist, and she was utterly shocked as to who had done so when she turned around.

"Eriol!" she gasped, pulling him into the biggest bear hug he'd ever been in.

"Hello, lovely lady!" he greeted, wrapping his arms around her back to return her warm hug. He presented her with twelve dozen red roses, and a kiss which Tomoyo thought had to be way more sweeter than honey. She looked at him, and noticed how he barely even changed over the past two months she had seen him. His hair, still navy blue and smooth, his glasses, never smudged or dirty - but his smile was wider than ever.

"I love you," Tomoyo had said, out of the blue. She stood, shocked at both herself, and her words. But she could not deny what she had said. What she said was true, and so she thought that there was no point to start lying and say that she just got "caught up in the moment", unlike some people.

Eriol smiled, kissed her once more, and twirled her around and around. She laughed and knew that he felt the same way. "And I love you more," he replied.

Tomoyo suddenly felt like she could surf to the stars.

-

-

-

-

**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	22. Palm Reading

Authors Notes:

**Before I say anything else, I would just love, love, LOVE to say this to all my faithful fans and reviewers: YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST-EST x100,000,000,000,000,000 TO THE MAX! That's right! You know why? Because you guys have helped me SO much to get where I am right now. And some people may ask. "Where the hell are you right now?" and I will be GLAD to answer that I am at FOUR HUNDRED FREAKING REVIEWS. You see, some people may not think that's a lot, but to me, that's the soOo totally cool. It could even be cooler than me! (which I highly doubt because I'm the coolest cat in the world XD!)**

**ahnigurl**: You're making me feel worse XD! STOP PUTTING DOTS BEHIND EVERY OTHER SENTENCE XD! LOL. That's how I sense something is wrong. LOL. Like I said, I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I'm really weird when it comes to fan fictions :-).

**koishii wolf**: OOH! I love it when other people like my ideas! LOL, even when people like it so much that people want to use it in THEIR stories! LOL. Thanks for your review! And like I said, keep up the hot job with your story! It's really good. I actually tried reading it and I was certainly impressed! ;-).

**behindthatsmile**: OMG! I love it when people compliment me on how I update so fast. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to keep doing what I do with my updates, because I hate to keep people waiting. You see, I promised myself that I would never leave a fanfiction on hold and never update for months at a time. That's just plain MEAN! LOL. Thanks for your review! Luv ya! ;-).

**nearinsane**: HEY! -**says in alien like voice**- Greetings, new reviewer! LOL. It's always nice to see someone else's username up there on the review space. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story. I hope you can review, too! I like to see the same usernames over and over again sometimes. LOL.

**Illusion Dragon**: OKAY. You know what? You are OFFICIALLY one of the coolest cats I've ever met on fan fiction. LOL. Cool cats are what I call cool people. I'M A COOL CAT! LOL. Don't feel honoured that you're one of my best-est fan fic buds! Just consider yourself lucky ;-). LMAO! Did you seriously like the quotes in my name? ARGH, I hated them. They pissed me off. LOL. Well I'm off to other reviews! -kiss, kiss-! Luv ya!

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**BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING ELSE, this chapter is dedicated to oops. Yes, their name is oops. I would really like to know their name - but anyway, thanks to him/her, I noticed my typo! ERIOL DID NOT GIVE TOMOYO TWELVE DOZEN ROSES. I only meant a dozen, and twelve are in a dozen, so I accidentally wrote twelve dozen. I'm an idiot. LOL. Thanks, oops!**

Disclaimer: I only own my teddies and my TV! Not CCS or any of it's characters...GOSH.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty-two!

**Palm Reading**

Syoaran groaned as both Sakura and Yelan dragged him and his arm into the fair grounds. Syaoran was never into this kind of stuff, going out at night and visiting the dozens of different booths there were. He was very glad that the Chinese New Year had passed, but he'd celebrated it enough. Tonight, he wanted to rest.

"Mother!" he wailed, ripping his arm out of both the crazy lady's grasps, "I don't want to go to the bloody Fair! I honestly have much better things to do."

"Aww, you don't mean that," Sakura replied, taking hold of his arm once more. "Now let's go!" and all of them - and when I say, all of them, I mean, Tomoyo, Eriol, Sakura, Syaoran, and Yelan - went to the entrance booth. A short, stout man with a big moustache stood behind the tiny booth, tickets in one hand, the other sticking a dirty, short finger in his ear.

Sakura looked at the man in disgust, and exchanged looks with Tomoyo. Both girls knew what to do. Tomoyo took Eriol's hand, and Sakura took Syaoran's, and they went in, without even paying. "Queen," Sakura said, "We'd love to stay and...help you pay for the tickets, but, we're just so excited. Can we go ahead and decide on which booths to visit while you give the nice man money?"

Yelan's jaw dropped to the ground. "Why I never - " she began, but was cut off by Sakura's pleading look. Sakura hated being in the presence of such disgusting men, that didn't even bother to acknowledge the Royal Family and their friends. "...Of course!" Yelan continued reluctantly. She gave Sakura a "you owe me one" kind of look, and Sakura simply smiled in reply. Normally, Yelan would never agree to stay behind while everyone else got to go and have fun, but she realized that the more time Syaoran and Sakura spent together, the quicker they'd fall in love - so she decided to let it go.

**_xxxxxx_**

The four of the young lads strolled along on the fair grounds, with wide eyes. The fair only came once a year, and when it did, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol would take in everything they saw, heard or did and store it in a special place in their minds, where no other thoughts or memories were kept. They would normally keep those kinds of things to themselves, but would share them during a certain time, a time far more important than the fair.

Tomoyo linked her arms with Eriol's, and slowed her step. Just a few minutes ago, she had seen a food stand, and she'd only noticed just now that her stomach was rumbling. She held her stomach with her free hand, hoping to keep the horrible noise it was making inside her pale body. However, she failed quite miserably.

"Tomoyo!" Eriol said teasingly, removing his arm from hers, and patting her stomach, "Is that your stomach I hear? Or is a grizzly bear getting prepared to pounce?" and he began to laugh. His beautiful blue eyes shone beautifully behind his clear glasses, and anyone with proper sight could tell that he was having a fairly good time.

Tomoyo hit him on the arm. "Be quiet...I haven't eaten in a while! Can you blame me?"

Eriol laughed once again. "No, I guess not," and he took Tomoyo and himself in a different direction, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone. He realized that they were being quite shy for most of the night, and haven't been speaking - which was odd, because Sakura was one of the most talkative people he'd ever met.

"Well then," he said, "does that mean you want a tiny snack before we go any further to the booths?"

"Yes please!" Tomoyo shrieked, running towards the food stand with Eriol lagging on behind her.

**_xxxxxx_**

Sakura and Syaoran walked along in an uncomfortable silence. Sakura began to twiddle with her thumbs, while Syaoran shoved his hands inside his pockets. Not because he couldn't find anything to do with them, but because the weather had gotten quite cold. Although winter was almost over, and the last of the snow was melting away, the wind had gotten colder, as if something big was going to happen.

"Strange..." Syaoran muttered, not even noticing that he had said what he thought out loud.

"Hmm?" Sakura asked, finally ripping her gaze off of her shoes and looking at Syaoran. He had a concentrated look on his face, as if he was thinking of something important. Not only did she notice that, but she noticed how much he'd grown over the new year. He'd gotten a bit taller, and so had she, but he was still one or two inches bigger. His shy and mysterious steps had now become large and confident strides. He certainly was a grown man at the age of seventeen.

"Oh, nothing," Syaoran replied. His thoughts suddenly loomed over to the subject of New Year's, and how Sakura had kissed him so quickly. Although the kiss was no longer than five seconds, he still felt the warmth and excitement in it - as if she was planning on doing it all along. He'd been wanting to ask her about it, but she'd run off so quickly. He was kind of glad that she did that, because he still needed time to recover from the shock. But the next day, Sakura pretended as though nothing had happened, but Syaoran could tell by the way she acted, she was still trying to recover from shock also.

"I was wondering," Syaoran began. It was now or never. "about that kiss on New Years. What was it all about?"

Sakura's mind froze. She hadn't expected him to ask her about it. Well, not now at least. Normally it'd take him more than just two months to ask about something like this. He didn't even give her enough time to think of an excuse. Then again, that day at the beach when they'd kissed, they spoken about it just hours after it, and it wasn't so bad. Maybe this wouldn't be either.

(A/N: They are in the middle of February right now.)

"Er...It was just..." Sakura began. Just tell him the truth, she thought. It's no big deal anyway. And so she did. "It was just a dumb dare. Well not exactly, but kind of. Let's just say I thought it would be daring to kiss you. It just had to do with a stupid game, that's all," she finished. She hadn't exactly told the truth, but she hadn't told a lie either. Good enough for her.

"So, you didn't do it because you wanted to?" Syaoran questioned, hoping and expecting for an answer to come from Sakura's mouth.

"No," Sakura replied. That was definitely not the answer Syaoran wanted to hear. Yet, why? Normally, he be totally satisfied with that answer. Knowing that the girl he's disliked for twelve years didn't want to kiss him? He'd be joyful. But over the months, even he, himself noticed a weird change in him.

"Oh..." He breathed, in a disappointed kind of tone. Sakura gave him a weird look, as if wanting to know why he did so. She thought he'd be quite happy. Seeing this, Syaoran said, "Oh!" in a higher, cheery tone of voice. The questioning look on Sakura's face suddenly brightened, after receiving the reply she wanted.

Uncomfortably, Sakura began to scan the crowd of people around and/or in the booths. She would look anywhere besides Syaoran's eyes. While searching through the crowd for someone she knew, her eyes fell on Yelan, who was for some peculiar reason, standing, hunched over behind a booth. Her eyes seemed to be concentrated somewhere else, and Sakura discovered that it was them she was looking at.

Oh no, thought Yelan, standing up straight and dusting off her ground. She put on the brightest smile she could muster up, and walked towards Syaoran and Sakura, who was waving at her to come join them. After arriving beside Sakura, Yelan was just about to give her "dont let me interrupt" speech like she did when she locked Syaoran and Sakura out on the terrace, but Tomoyo and Eriol had joined them also.

(A/N: I'm talking about **Mother Knows Best, Right?** Check that chapter out if you're confused.)

"Sakura..." Tomoyo said, slowly and quietly, as if shy to even say Sakura's name, "can I talk to you? It's kind of...well, it's not very important, but I'd still like to talk to you," she finished quickly, looking away from Eriol. Eriol smiled and nudged his girlfriend. Tomoyo exchanged weird looks with him before she took Sakura by the elbow and began to drag her away from the crowd.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked, thinking that what Tomoyo had to say was urgent, even though she said it wasn't very important. Sakura always thought that what Tomoyo said was a big deal because she was her best friend. Whenever Tomoyo wanted to talk about something, her ears were always open.

"You called Eriol to come for New Years when he was on a business trip with his father? Sakura Kinomoto! The two months I spent with hime while you were in the cottage with Syaoran was long enough! I mean, you really didn't have to do what you did!" Tomoyo said, fairly quickly. She had found out about Sakura's devious, yet awesome plan, and would not let Sakura go without a good explanation.

Sakura smiled. Tomoyo had finally found out about her devious, yet awesome plan. It took her long enough. Or at least, it took long enough for Eriol to tell her. "One," Sakura began, holding up a pale, nicely polished index finger, "I didn't have to do what I did? I don't think so! You should've seen yourself. You were miserable without having the man you loved to be with you on New Years!" and she stuck up her middle finger, signalling the number two, "Second, I told Eriol not to tell you,"

Tomoyo smiled. "Sakura, I'm his girlfriend. I can be pretty convincing. By the way, how did you get him to the village so quickly?"

Sakura smirked, and wrapped her arm around Tomoyo's shoulders, and began to lead the way back towards Syaoran, Eriol, and Yelan. "Tomoyo," she said devilishly, "I'm the Princess. I can be pretty convincing too," and they both laughed.

**_xxxxxx_**

A few hours had passed, and the five of them had already been to most of the booths there was to visit. Syaoran had won Sakura many stuffed animals, some requested by her, some Syaoran just won for her for absolutely no reason, and Tomoyo had been snacking on all the food there was to eat. Eriol had no idea his girlfriend had such an appetite.

"Where to next?" Sakura said, not one bit tired. Once more, she scanned the fair grounds to see what there was to visit. The Cork Game? They'd already been to that. The Rifle Game? They'd only played that game one million times! Sakura's eyes suddenly landed onto a booth she'd never seen before. It was covered in bright purple curtains, with beautiful Indian designs on them. She was automatically convinced to go and visit it.

"Let's go here!" Tomoyo said, as if reading Sakura's mind. She pointed towards the purple booth, and without any hesitation, Sakura and Tomoyo made a run for it, with either their boyfriend of fiance trailing along behind them. All Yelan could do was smile and laugh, and remember the days when she had been an energetic girl like that.

They came towards the entrance door, and as if was a rule, Sakura and Tomoyo suddenly stopped, making Syaoran and Eriol stop abruptly behind them. Now the only thing that separated them from the booth were the bright red and pink beads, hanging down from the door. They could just barely see through them. But they could tell that there were many lit candles inside. If one of them fell, they'd be in deep trouble.

"_Enter..._" a sudden voice had wooed. Everyone could tell it was a woman's voice, but like no other voice they'd heard. It was spooky, and scary, yet at the same time enticing and attractive. Now, with permission, the five of them entered the booth, and their noses were suddenly filled with the smell of a strong, Asian perfume. All of them would've covered their noses, but they were too busy goggling at the different artifacts inside the tiny booth.

"This is so odd..." Yelan breathed, looking at all the weird things. There were the weirdest books on the tiny shelf. Some, Yelan had never even heard of, and Yelan was a big reader. While she goggled at the books, Tomoyo and Sakura were pulled over to the white vanity, as if it were a magnet. They found it quite odd to find a vanity inside a booth, but they didn't care. They began to rattle through the drawers, looking to see what kind of make-up the woman that owned the booth had.

"What in the world is this?" Syaoran questioned, reaching for a jar of...whatever. Suddenly, his hand was snapped away by a woman with a dark purple shaul covered over her head. He knew that the woman that had snapped his hand away was the woman who owned the booth. They way they had described her voice was exactly the way the she looked. Scary, spooky, enticing, and attractive. She must've been in her thirties. She had high cheekbones, and was wearing a lot of make-up. More red lipstick than Tomoyo had ever seen in her entire life.

"Don't tough that!" She snapped, "Those eyeballs cost a fortune..." and Syaoran suddenly backed away from the jar, as if it were a deadly disease. "Follow me," she continued, beckoning for the five of them to sit around a white painted wooden table. They all took chairs, and sat around it, quite reluctantly. Tomoyo and Sakura were beginning to regret ever coming into this place.

"My name is Mystique," she said, in her low, scary voice once more, "I sensed your presence, even before you had entered this booth...Now, may I ask you, what can I do for you?"

(A/N: Her name is pronounced as MISS-TEEK.)

Yelan, Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura all exchanged glances, deciding on who should speak first. No one wanted to, so Sakura decided to step up to the plate. What did she have to lose? "Err...Mystique," Sakura began, slowly and cautiously, "We don't exactly know what your services may be. Do you mind..."

"Telling you what my booth is for?" she finished for Sakura, and watched her nodd. She smiled, and carried her head with both her hands, her elbows on the table. "I predicted you would say that..." and she seemed to trail off with her thoughts. Thankfully, she floated back to reality. "I am Mystique the Fortune Teller. Sit with me and I will tell you whatever I can. What the future may have in store for you, what you will have for breakfast, and even who you may be in love with..."

"Oh really?" Yelan said, half creeped out, half interested. "I'm sure my son, Syaoran - the Prince, and my soon-to-become daughter in law would love for you to try something on them!" and she pointed towards Syaoran and Sakura, who were shaking their heads from side to side, signalling for her not to reccommend themselves to the crazy woman. They stopped and plastered on wide smiles when she looked in their direction.

"Gladly," Mystique answered, grabbing Syaoran's hand.

"What are you - ?" Syaoran began, but was cut off.

"Hush!" Mystique snapped, now dragging her fingers this way and that across Syaoran's right hand. "You must not interrupt me while I am palm reading," and Syaoran or anyone could do nothing but stare and nodd numbly. They waited for a few minutes, and Mystique began making weird sounds from the back of her throat, as if she was humming. Except, it wasn't like she was humming a nice song, it was more like the sound someone made when they were meditating.

"Hmmm..." Mystique hummed. And she suddenly dropped Syaoran's hand so quickly that it actually hurt. She heard Syaoran's grunt in pain, but ignored it, and began to speak, with an odd twinkle in her eyes. "You, my good sir, are in love!" she declared, a smile appearing on her face for the first time the Syaoran met her. He looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Of course he is," Eriol piped up, "he's engaged, remember? That's Sakura Kinomoto. You must know her. She's the duaghter of King Fujitaka,"

Mystique's gaze fell on the nervously smiling Sakura. "Hmm...Yes. I understand now." and stood up from her seat. "Kind lady," she said to Yelan, "Would you please move over one seat, and everyone else do so also so that I may have a seat beside Princess Sakura?" everyone did as they were told, and left a seat for Mystique beside Sakura.

"Kind Princess...Would you like to try something?" she asked mysteriously. Afraid of what she might do if she answered no, Sakura replied with a yes. With the odd sparkle in her eye still, she took hold of Sakura's hand, and placed it on top of Syaoran's, who was just as confused as Sakura. "You will palm read for me," she continued, dragging Sakura's fingers over Syaoran's soft palm, "Do you see this?" she asked, pointing with her own finger at a line on Syaoran's hand, "That is his love line. Tell us whether or not he's in love,"

Sakura did as she was told. She began to touch Syaoran's hand, here and there, not even bothering to test his love line. For some reason, Sakura just loved what she was doing to him. She loved the feel of her hand on his, and she never wanted to stop what she was doing. Yet, she had to, so people wouldn't get so suspicous. But not so soon, Sakura thought, continuing to caress Syaoran's hand.

Syaoran had to fight back the huge urge to moan. Just like Sakura, he loved what she was doing to him. He loved the feel of his hand in hers, and he never, ever wanted her to stop. For some reason however, she stopped, and he had to fight an even bigger urge to cry out in protest so she could continue to touch his hand.

Sakura stopped, but did not remove her hand from his. She let her index finger trail along his love line, only to try and see if she really could tell if he was in love. She looked up from his hand, into his intense, amber eyes. He looked back into her emerald ones, with a questioning look on his face. Oh no, Sakura thought. He must think I like him now or something, and she suddenly removed her hand. She looked over to Mystique, whose head was resting on her hand, and smirking.

"So tell us, Princess," she asked, "is Prince Syaoran in love?"

Sakura's eyes darted back and forth to Syaoran's eyes, and to Mystique's. "He's..." she began, not knowing what to answer. She finally let her gaze rest on Syaoran. "He's definitely in love,"

**_xxxxxx_**

As Tomoyo and Eriol began to take their seat on the carriage to be taken back to the castle, Eriol asked Tomoyo something, before Sakura or Syaoran could get the chance to join them. "Was it just me, or was there some definite tension in there?"

"Well, either it was both of us, or there really was - !"

"Really was what?" Syaoran asked, climbing onto the carriage, Sakura just behind him.

"Oh...It's nothing," Tomoyo replied, who looked at Eriol with a smirk on her face.

Authors Notes:

I'm sorry it took me so freaking long to update! My timing sucks, eh?

I really hope you liked this chapter! It took me FOREVER to think of it. You should be proud! LMAO! Just kidding! I tried adding more descriptions in here. I hope you guys liked that also. I may suck at it, but you still got to love me for trying, right? LMAO! Just kidding!

Tell me what you thought of it, kay?

**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	23. You're Holding My Heart!

Authors Notes: Hey guys! Thanks for your reviewing so much! You're getting me really close to 500 reviews! XD! Thanks a million!

**Pinaygrrl**: Well hello there, fellow Filipino! HAHA. Mystique smirked because she can sense a "vibe" going on between Syaoran and Sakura. Get it now? LOL. Thanks for your review!

**SeleneNight904**: I'm sorry you didn't like last chapter as much as the others. I'm hoping that this one will kind of lift your spirits! HAHA. I'm kind of glad Mystique creeped you out. You see, I really wanted her to be creepy! HAHA. Thanks for your review!

**Lady-Cherry**: NOO, It's okay that you didn't review. I really don't mind :-). LOL. School is always a problem, so please, take your time, and review when you can, or if you want! It doesn't really matter to me :-). Anyway, I'm glad you like my story! HAHA. I love your sign off signature. "Lady Cherry, the french but not french girl who speaks too much!" LOL. I'm exactly the same! -high five-! LOL. Thanks for your review!

**nearinsane**: YAY! You reviewed again! Major kudos for you! Keep it up! HAHA. You went to a fortuen teller? That's cool. You see, I'm a Catholic, so I can't really do that stuff, and I don't plan on doing so either. I just thought it'd be a cool twist to the story. LOL. Thanks for your review! I hope I see your pen name in the review spot a lot more often! XD!

**Illusion Dragon**: YES, cool cat! And you're one of the coolest feline's I know! HAHA! Thanks for your review!

**DEVILZ CHIK**: HEY YOU! You can't end your story at chapter nine either! PFF, you know what I'm talking about! "Fearless"! You have to, have to update! It's totally awesome! So...I'll make a deal with you? You don't have to agree or anything. I just want you to update, so, if I update on the story, will you update on "Fearless" also? PLEASE, PLEASE? Pretty please with a cherry on top? XD!

**mystikalstarz**: Is it okay if I write your pen name like that? It's too long. LOL. Anyway, that's funny, the way you found my chapter. HAHA. The library lady must've been angry! HAHA. Thanks for your review!

**Kinagaki**: OMG! OF COURSE! I would absolutely LOVE you for eternity x 10 if you drew fan art for this fan fiction! How could I say no? I bet you're an awesome drawer! Thanks SO much, Kinagaki!

**Amanda**: LOL, OMG, Yelan is SO totally OOC. If you don't know, which I think you do, OOC means Out Of Character. She would never do the stuff that she's doing in my story! LOL. Thanks for your review!

**Just so we're clear, Sakura only THINKS Syaoran is in love, he COULD be, but I'm not telling you. XD! LOL, also, I do not believe in Palm Reading. I'm a Catholic, and the only reason I included that Palm Reading stuff is because I thought it'd be a cool twist to my story.**

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I DON'T OWN CCS OR ANY OF THE STUPID CHARACTERS! Are you guys just trying to make me feel bad? CUZ DAMN, you sure are when you make me admit that I don't own anything! LMAO.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty three!

**You're Holding My Heart! **

Sakura sighed as she walked along the crowded streets. The day had been filled with wedding planning. Dress measurements, tuxedo measurements, deciding for best men, maids of honour, bride's maid, which flowers there will be, which church, or if the wedding will be held outdoors, etc! Too much work and no play was just not good for Sakura. So there she was, walking along the streets, with so much wedding things on her mind...

The day had started out bright, with not a cloud in the sky. They were in the last few days of February, which meant it was still quite cold, but the golden sun's long rays made everything it touched turn warm. Sakura and Syaoran were one of them, and they were very thankful for that.

The minute Sakura risen from her silk covered bed, she had wanted to do something fun, like take a walk in the park, feed the pigeons, or maybe even visit the cottage! She'd only just sat down, and began eating her breakfast when Tomoyo and Yelan destroyed her plans for the day. They had forced her to change into a better dress, because they both thought that if she wore nice things, they'd impress the designer, and then they made at least half a dozen pit stops before they actually arrived at the designer's place. It was quite a day.

Sighing, Sakura came out of the dressing room with her wedding gown on. Unlike her Mother's, Sakura's wedding dress was traditional, just how she wanted it to be. Just the usual white, silky, beautiful designed gown by Tomoyo, hugging each and every part of her beautiful body. Her veil reached down just below her neck, covering her face, and beautiful flower patterns were scattered downward on the side of her dress.

Tomoyo shrieked in delight at the sight of Sakura in the gorgeous gown she made, especially for her. She quickly ran up to her, and began making small adjustments here and there, just so Sakura could look her best. Sakura was kind of annoyed. It wasn't even her wedding day yet, and they were acting as if it was!

"I don't understand, Tomoyo," Sakura began, turning sideways to get a side view of her dress, "why don't you just design everything for me? Like the men's tuxedo's, the bride's maid dresses, and everything else? It would make things so much more easier for Syaoran and me," and she turned the other way.

Tomoyo stood behind Sakura, observing on how the dress stretched when Sakura turned this way and that. "Well," Tomoyo said, her gaze still glued onto the dress, "I would absolutely love to do that, Sakura, but unfortunately, I don't have that kind of time on my hands,"

Sakura turned to face her best friend, a shocked look on her face. "You don't have enough time on your hands? You're joking, right? This dress is beautiful, Tomoyo, and it must've taken so much time to design! Probably more than two tuxedo's, four bride's maid dresses, and the groom's outfit too!"

"That's not true. You're just angry that you have to spend your entire day with that mad designer. She's nothing like me! I could design much more beautiful things than that ugly hag." and she paused slightly, and shook her head. "No, that's not true. She's not an ugly hag. I'm just jealous that I can't make your wedding gowns and outfits. But I was telling the truth about that mad thing. The woman's bloody mad!"

"I know!" Sakura agreed, putting on the woman's voice, "No! Don't turn that way! Your breasts are much too small! Gain weight on them, young lady! Your waist is too small! How am I suppose to make a dress that fits that?" and they both burst out into a fit of laughter. Their laughter was so loud, that they didn't even notice the door open and close.

Syaoran stepped into the designer's place, ready for his appointment with her. He saw both Tomoyo and Sakura, just standing there and laughing. He raised an eyebrow, and began to speak, "Hello, ladies!" but they didn't seem to notice him. "Ladies?" he questioned, taking a step forward, his foot making contact with the wheel of a dressing rack. It made a noise, like a twig snapping, and Tomoyo's head suddenly snapped into the direction she'd heard it in, and she saw Syaoran, standing in the doorway.

She lunged at him, making him fall on his back, Tomoyo on top of him. "Get out!" she shrieked, hastily getting up, and dusting off her dress from any dirt that she may have gotten when she fell on the floor. "Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the actual wedding?" Tomoyo spat, glaring at Syaoran. "Are you trying to ruin everything?"

(A/N: Just so everyone knows, when Tomoyo landed on top of him, that was NOTHING romantic.)

"Sorry," Syaoran replied, sarcasm dripping from every letter, "I didn't know you were so superstitious!" and he got up also, not even bothering to do what Tomoyo did, because he didn't mind getting dirty or filthy. "I also didn't know that you two were in there! All I knew was that you two had an appointment with the designer, and that it ended at half past two. It's three quarters after two right now, and I thought you guys would be gone,"

Tomoyo looked down at the ground. He was right. They should've been gone fifteen minutes ago. "Did you see her wearing the dress?" Tomoyo asked.

"No," Syaorarn replied truthfully. He may have seen them laughing together, but that did not mean he actually saw Sakura wearing the dress. "All I saw was Sakura's head. You were kind of infront of her, blocking my view from the rest of her body, so don't get all angry at me, okay?" and he began to make his way into the room. Tomoyo stopped him.

"Wait!" she said, holding a hand for him to stop, "she might not be finished changing - "

" - Hey!" Sakura began, now in her former clothing, "What was that racket out here? Tomoyo, you ran out of the room so quickly I thought it was an emergency! So I got dressed and out of my wedding gown as fast as I could. What's the matter?"

All her blood filled Tomoyo's cheeks, making them look beet red. She felt really stupid for making such a big deal out of things. "Um...Nothing, Sakura. I'm going to go get our things, and the gowns from the crazy designer. I'll see you two in a minute," and she vamooshed as fast as she could into the room, hoping that if she got out of there quickly, she wouldn't feel so stupid.

"So," Syaoran began, "you were in your wedding gown, eh? I bet you looked totally ugly," and he smirked when he saw Sakura's face go red, and her lips go inward when she pouted. Her face grew angrier when she saw Syraoran smirk, only making Syaoran's smirk go wider.

"Be quiet! I think I looked quite good in it, it's just too bad I can't say the same thing for you and your tuxedo!" she snapped. She wasn't exactly telling the truth, however. She had seen him wearing a rough design of it, and even though the tuxedo wasn't ready, he still looked really good. Oh well, she had thought. Seeing the groom in his outfit before the wedding wasn't bad luck, was it?

"Well, look what the cat dragged out," said a sudden feminine voice, coming from behind Syaoran. Syaoran jerked around, Sakura moved her head, and before them, stood the brunette, disgusting hazel eyed, snobbish daughter of the second richest man in the kingdom. Leah Bourne, number one on Sakura's most hated list (not that she had one). Syaoran noticed Sakura's face grew solemn and stiff. He never really understood why the two hated each other so much.

"Yes," Sakura replied, gaining composure, "look what the cat dragged out. I knew I smelled something gross. Leah, you might want to take a bath," Sakura finished, satisfied with her insult. She smirked as she saw the frown being plastered onto Leah's pale, tanned face. Sakura grew confused. Leah never had a tan.

Leah felt Sakura's eyes scan her entire body. She smiled, and thought up another quick comeback, "You probably see that I got a tan. Daddy took me to another tropical island so I wouldn't have to spend another horrible, snow filled Christmas here. Ugh. But, I heard that you got to spend some time...in a cottage," she said, and tried to hold in a fit of giggles, which she didn't mind letting out, "What now, Kinomoto? Daddy can't afford the best for you anymore?"

Sakura took a step towards Leah, as if to strike, and Leah's lips, which were once a wicked smile, turned flat, into a frightened frown. Sakura never let anyone insult her Father. "Oh, yes. My father. The king," Sakura began, glaring a whole through her body, "Don't you worry about what my father can or cannot afford. We're doing just fine, but thanks for your concern," she finished, sarcasm dripping on every word.

Leah scowled at her, and turned to Syaoran. She smiled her wicked smile once more, and wrapped her arms around Syaoran's waist. She had always wanted Syaoran, since the first day she'd met him. He was rich, good looking, and exactly what she wanted. She reminded Sakura of Sophie. "Syaoran, honey," she said, "I was thinking you could take me to the ball that my Daddy is holding on the first day of May! Very few people are going. Only people who I think deserve to go," and she jerked backwards, to give Sakura a look, and turned back to face Syaoran, "And you definitely deserve to go. So, what do you say?"

Sakura stood behind the both of them, and glowed a disgusting shade of green. Green for jealousy. She watched as she tried to coax him into going into the stupid ball with her, and Syaoran and his weak attempts to get her filthy arms off of him. She didn't deserve to hold him like that. Only his...fiance. Sakura walked towards the two, and shoved Leah off, and linked her arms with Syaoran, and smiled a sarcastic smile. "Sorry, Leah, but Syaoran and I have lots of things to do on the first day of May. We have lots of wedding planning,"

Leah's jaw dropped. "You two are...are..."

"Engaged? Yes, we are. Obviously, when you went to that tropical island, no one bothered to tell you that Syaoran and I spent our summer in the cottage. Yes, it wasn't just me like you thought. I was with the man of whom I love very much. We got engaged after we came back. We just couldn't stay away from each other, could we, Syaoran honey?" Sakura said, giving Syaoran a pleading look to agree with everything she had just said.

"Uh...She's right. That's right. I'm sorry, but I can't go with you. Lots of wedding planning to do. Lots! Isn't that right, honey bunch, snooky, wooky, wooky!" and they nuzzled noses, swinging their heads left and right. They put on a disgusting act of how an engaged couple acted.

"I...I see," Leah managed to choke out. "I...I have to go. I'll see the both of you some other time," and she sped off away from Syaoran and Sakura, as fast as she possibly could, hoping that her embarassment wouldn't last very long.

Syaoran and Sakura watched until she was out of sight. They both glanced at each other, and just the sudden look into each other's eyes, triggered the sound of noisy laughter. They began to pound the ground with their feet, and hold their hands with their stomachs. They had never acted in such a disgusting way.

"Thanks for going along with the story," Syaoran thanked, after he belted out the last few giggles he had in his system, "I really didn't want to go to that thing with her,"

"No problem," Sakura replied, "Besides, you're my fiance. I don't want you going out with other women, now do I?" and she kissed him on the cheek. Syaoran stood, frozen with shock. Had she really done that? Sakura noticed how he had gone stiff, and laughed. "Don't be so surprised, Syaoran. I've done worse," and she punched him playfully on the arm. Soon, they were joined by Tomoyo, who told them that they had to get going, otherwise they'd be late for their next appointment.

"So..." Tomoyo began, once inside the carriage, "I saw you and Syaoran's romantic moment out there," she finished, as she nudged and winked at her best friend.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about," and she stuck her nose in the air. She heard Tomoyo laugh, as the carriage trotted along the cobbled hard road, which made a path to their next destination.

**_xxxxxx_**

All the tiring appointments with the designers, all of the measurements taken, and the decision making, Sakura was oficially worn out. The soles of her feet were beginning to get sore from walking too much, she was afraid her arms were going to fall off because she had been holding them apart to take measurements, and she thought her brain would explode because she still had so many more choices to make for the wedding. Why wasn't Syaoran doing anything?

As she made her way across the street, she arrived at the old playground, where she found few children on it. Just like all the kids at five-years-old, which they seemed to be, they were laughing and running around, totally oblivious as to their surroundings. Not caring where they were, or what they did, just as long as they were all having fun.

Sakura smiled, remembering the time when she had been like that. She walked over to the playground, and took a seat on the splintered wood surrounding it. She smiled, as the kids whined and laughed, pushing and shoving each other around just for fun. Suddenly, a familiar sight began to form infront of her, and she couldn't help but watch the scene from the corner of her eye.

"Give it back!" the little girl screamed. The little girl had raven dark hair, which reached up to her waist. She couldn't have been more than five-years-old, which would explain why she was whining so much for her doll back.

Sakura watched as a little boy, just a few inches taller than her, laughed and sneered as he held the doll high above his head, out of her reach. She pouted, and folded her arms across her chest, and a shade of red began to form on the edges of her cheeks. "Give it back, you baffoon! Just because I won the game doesn't mean you have to steal my dolly! You cheated, anyway!" and she made a lunge for her doll, but failed to grab it.

The boy let his arms fall to his side, and Sakura watched as the little girl's eyes followed the doll. The boy now had a stuck-up look on his face, and his nose was held up high in the air. "I was not cheating!" he replied, the doll still firmly in his tiny hand, "Cheating is for peasants who can't defend themselves!" and he raised the doll back above his head.

Sakura smiled, half amused, half angry. She remembered a time when she had been treated like that by a certain boy. It seemed like deja vu all over again. She walked towards the little boy, from behind so that he wouldn't see her, and snatched the doll from his hands. "Now, is that true?" Sakura asked, handing the doll back to the little girl, "Cheating is only for peasants? I don't seem to think so," and she smiled at the little boy, so not to scare him.

The boy ran beside the girl, and they began taking a few steps backwards. Obviously they were taught by their parents never to talk to strangers. "No, no, it's alright," Sakura said, easing herself towards them, "I'm a good person. I'm the Princess!" and she was shocked to see the little girl and little boy bow down to her.

"Oh mighty Princess!" the little boy said animatedly, "We gravel at your feet!"

The little girl snorted. "It's grovel, you baffoon!" at that sentence, Sakura began to laugh her head off. She bent down on her knees, and helped the two children to their feet.

"You don't have to bow down to me," she said, "I'm just an everyday kind of girl. Go on and run along. I suspect that your mommy and daddy are waiting for you," and she began to push them lightly into the direction away from the playground. She was confused when they both turned around, and looked at her with grave faces.

"We're not brother and sister," the boy said disgustedly. The girl nodded. Sakura muttered her apology, and corrected her sentence. By doing so, Sakura only made their faces go an even greyer colour than it had been when she had said her first sentence. "We don't have mommy's or daddy's," the little boy continued. "We're here with our orphanage. Our friends are playing on the playground right now, and we can't leave until Mrs. Roe says we can,"

Sakura suddenly felt really stupid. She had mentioned parents twice infront of the orphan kids, and only figured out now that she told them that they were orphans. She should've known so when they're faces turned all sad. So then she wouldn't have to make the same mistake and mention parents again. But she did. Words couldn't explain how utterly stupid she felt.

"O - Oh..." Sakura breathed, "I'm...I'm so sorry."

The little boy and little girl shook their heads. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Good day to you, Princess! I think I'm going to go and play some more," and the little boy began to sprint off towards a group of boys playing with rocks. To Sakura's surprise, the little girl stayed behind, and held her hands behind her back, her gaze downward, and her foot tracing the ground.

Sakura bent down on her knees once more. "What's your name?" she asked softly, so not to scare her. The little girl kept her gaze away from Sakura, so she decided to tilt her head downwards more, so the girl could get a glimpse into her eyes. Sakura smiled. "You know, I was just as shy as you were when I was your age, and I had a bully, just like that little boy over there just like you!" Sakura said, and beckoned towards the little boy she was just recently talking to.

The girl snorted. "He's not my bully. It's just a great, big, stupid, dumb head." Sakura laughed at the child's immaturity, and picked her up. The little girl let her arms wrap around Sakura's neck, and was no longer scared to look at Sakura.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked, and the raven haired little girl proceeded to tell her name.

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran walked by himself, on the lonely cobbled streets. It was nearly six o'clock, and most people were inside their houses, eating dinner. The only thing that could be heard was the slight rumble of hooves as horse-drawn carriages trotted past, and children being shooed into the house by their parents.

Syaoran sighed deeply, and was shocked to find a little girl run out of a shop, all giggly and smiling. She looked up, and made contact with Syaoran's amber eyes. Slowly and cautiously, she walked towards him, and looked up at the giant before her.

"Hello," she said.

Syaoran smiled. "Why hello there, young lady. Where's your Mother?"

The little girl frowned. "I don't have a mommy. I was just in the shop with a friend! She's still buying me candy, though," and she jumped up towards Syaoran, and he caught her in his arms. He hoisted her up, so that her legs were wrapped around his stomach, yes, his stomach (her legs weren't long enough to be wrapped around his waist), and the little girl let her hands rest on his chest.

Syaoran was surprised that the girl blossomed up to him so quickly. Most girls her age would be shy, and timid. He could've been a bad person for all she knew, and yet, she let him carry her anyway. There must've been someone out there that taught her to be so trustful of people.

Suddenly, Sakura stepped out of the shop, with a tiny bag in her hand. She didn't notice Syaoran at first, because she was too busy scanning the empty street for something, or rather, someone. Her head flicked from side to side, and finally, she looked into Syaoran's direction. Her first, stiff shoulders suddenly softened, as she walked towards him, calmly and cautiously. Once she stopped, she just stared at both the little girl in Syaoran's arms, and himself.

"You're holding my Heart," Sakura said, out of the blue.

Syaoran's eyes went wide, and he almost dropped the fragile little girl. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? Did Sakura confess her love for him? He must've been correct. Syaoran wasn't exactly the age to be losing his ears.

"...Excuse me?" Syaoran replied, just to make sure.

"I said," Sakura repeated, "You're holding my Heart!" and she closed the gap in between them, and grabbed the little girl in his arms. The girl giggled, and reached for the tiny bag in Sakura's hands. Sakura sweeped it away, and put on a stern look. "Nuh, uh, uh," she said, as if she were a Mother, "What do you say first?" the little girl pouted, and forced out a "please". Sakura smiled, and gladly handed the candy filled bag to her.

"Oh, hi, Syaoran!" she said, as if she just noticed him then, "I'd like you to meet Heart Puso. She's an orphan that I just met today. Isn't she adorable?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran now understood. She wasn't actually confessing her love for him, but stating that he was holding Heart, the little girl she'd met that afternoon. His shoulders lowered, as if letting out a huge sigh that he'd been holding in, and mustered up the best smile he could. "Hello, Heart," he greeted, patting the little girl's back. "I'm Prince Syaoran, and it's a pleasure to meet you,"

Together, the three walked down the road, Sakura on Heart's left, Syaoran on her right. They each had one of her hands in theirs. It was a beautiful sight to see. Just the three of them, walking off towards the beautiful sun. It was as if Heart was the beloved child, and Syaoran and Sakura were the loving parents, more in love with each other than any other couple that existed in the world.

Authors Notes: YAY! I'm finished!

I hope you liked Heart. She's a new character, which I'm hoping to keep in for the next few chapters. LOL, also, if some of you don't know, her last name, **Puso, is HEART in tagalog**. LOL, YUP, I'm a proud Filipina! HAHA.

EXCUSE ANY TYPOS!

**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	24. Tragedy Strikes for the Better

Authors Notes: Hey guys! Not much to say here. Might as well make some replies xD!

**nearinsane**: She needs a designer because Tomoyo only designed the WEDDING GOWN. Sakura and Syaoran still need someone to make the maids of honour's gown, and the tuxedo's and everything else. LOL. Kay, thanks for your review!

**shortygirl333**: My dad's Cebuano! LOL. Cool, huh? Thanks for your review!

**mystikalstarz**: LOL. You're funny. Keep reviewing. I always need someone like you to brighten up my day :-P.

**red-sakura-wolf**: AWW, thanks! You make me blush madly! HAHA. Thanks for your review!

**Lady-Cherry**: I understood every word you typed! HAHA. Thanks for your review!

**A special salute to all of those that told me that they were Filipino/Filipina! I can't make a lot of replies to everyone that told me they were, so read this if you told me you were Filipino and you didn't get a reply! LOL.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the plot! Which I think is good enough...hmm... - **goes in thinking mode** -

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty-four!

**Tragedy Strikes For the Better**

Sakura buried her head deeper into the pillow, as the sobs and moans grew louder. Her shoulders heaved whenever she let out a large howl, and no one knew what to do to make her feel any better. No one was even sure if it was possible, but they at least had to try. The recent death had shook everyone, and Sakura was about the only person that thought she couldn't handle it.

"It's alright..." Syaoran soothed, patting her back gently. Syaoran was also quite sad about the death, and he was surprised to feel the way he did. He had hated him so much, and yet he was grieving for him. He thought it was the least he could do for Sakura, since the death occurred just days before the wedding. She had wanted everything to be perfect, and they both thought that everything would - until the tragic event.

Quietly, as if not wanting to be noticed, Tomoyo entered the room, balancing a tray in her small hands. On the tray were two China cups filled with honey tea, and a plate with bread and jam on it. She laid it on the side table, where she hoped Sakura would find and eat it. She held the other cup which was not meant for Sakura, to Syaoran, where he whispered his thanks.

"How is she doing?" Tomoyo asked, concern in her voice. She looked at Sakura with sad eyes, and shook her head from side to side, disappointed to see her best friend in such a state. She had never seen Sakura cry about something so hard. She thought it was terrible that she was powerless to help her.

"She's..." Syaoran began.

"I'm awful!" Sakura interrupted, lifting her head from underneath the pillow, revealing tangled, un-brushed auburn hair, and bloodshot emerald eyes. She looked over to the side table and grabbed a tissue, but before blowing her nose, noticed the breakfast that Tomoyo had so kindly brought up for her. She picked up the piece of toast with strawberry jam, and looked at it wistfully.

"This was his favourite breakfast food!" Sakura wailed, and dove back underneath the pillow, dropping the toast back onto the plate, and forgetting to blow her nose. Syaoran gave Tomoyo a "why did you bring up his favourite breakfast food?" kind of look, and Tomoyo shrugged.

"I didn't know!" she replied in a whisper, and began to pat Sakura's back. "Listen, Sakura," Tomoyo said, hoping to get through to her, "we're all sad that Kero died, but - " and she was cut off by Sakura's cry of sadness. It seemed that even the mention of Kero's name made Sakura get all teary eyed - not that she wasn't already.

Kero had died two days previous. Sakura had noticed something wrong with him a few days earlier, but didn't bother to send him to the veterenarian or anything, trusting her instincts that he was going to be okay. But he wasn't. There was something in his food that caused him to have a bad case of food poisoning, which would slowly be the very thing to kill him. Sakura blamed herself and only herself for not sending him to the doctor.

Tomoyo breathed in a large sigh, and tried her best to contain her anger. Sure, she was sad that Sakura was sad, but she had tried getting through to Sakura so much for the past two days, but Sakura never let her. It was getting frustrating for Tomoyo, but she wouldn't give up until Sakura could see the brighter side to this. Hoping that she would, Tomoyo tried again.

"As I was saying," she said, placing her hand firmly on Sakura's back, "we're all sad that..." and Tomoyo hesitated, not knowing whether or not to say Kero's name, fearful that she might be interrupted once more. She bit the corner of her lip in thinking mode, and just thought to hell with it. "We're all sad that Kero died - " and Sakura had sobbed another loud sob at the sound of his name. Tomoyo through her hands in the air, fed up, and walked towards the door.

"Wait!" Syaoran hissed, jogging up to Tomoyo with a pleading look in his eyes, "you can't leave me here with her! You don't know how frustrating it is to try and make her feel better!" and he watched as Tomoyo snorted, and left the room. That may have made her look like a bad friend, but she tried - really, she did.

Cautiously, as if Sakura were a ticking bomb, ready to blow up at any moment, Syaoran made his way towards her, gently easing himself onto the bed. He watched in concern as Sakura spent the next twenty minutes crying her eyes out, moaning and groaning. It wasn't until she noticed Syaoran's movement on the bed to exit the room that she began to speak.

"Wait," she said, in a groggy, un-used voice. She sat up on the bed, and plucked three or more tissues from the bed side table, and hastily blew her nose. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head in disappointment at herself. "I never meant for things to be like this. You and Tomoyo shouldn't have to be here with me, trying to make me feel better. Go on. Get out. Spend the rest of your afternoon doing whatever. I shouldn't be the thing holding you guys back,"

Syaoran smiled. He had always loved that Sakura never thought of herself, but only for others. Gently, he took her hands in his, and kissed them. "You listen to me," he began, in a stern playful voice, "we're in here because we want to be. If you grieve, we grieve. I won't leave you alone until you feel better. I would say the same thing for Tomoyo, but she gave up on you thirty minutes ago," he joked, achieving a giggle from Sakura. At least it wasn't a sob.

"I don't blame her," Sakura replied, removing her hands from his, and getting more tissues to blow her nose. She dabbed at her eyes, and smiled, hoping to make herself feel better. "I feel so stupid," she said, tears beginning to pool around her eyes once more.

"Don't say that," Syaoran said, taking her hand once more. His mind grew with confusion as Sakura removed her hand, and began to cry again. "Sakura," he coaxed, "why are you stupid?"

Sakura cried a little bit more before she answered. She tried to collect herself, but had to face the fact that she had broken, and she couldn't recollect herself until she was ready, and right now, she was definitely not ready. "It's my fault," she said, guilt dripping on her every word. "It's my fault he's dead. He had food poisoning, and I never took him to the doctor. I had to trust my stupid instinct, and lost my friend that has been there for me, almost as long as Tomoyo," she bawled.

"Hey, hey!" Syaoran said in a cheerful voice. "Come here," and he motioned towards his body. Surprisingly, Sakura let herself fall to pieces in Syaoran's warm embrace. She sobbed into his shoulder, and left the one spot that she cried into wet, and salty from her fresh tears. "Remember," Syaoran said, "everything happens for a reason."

He felt Sakura squirm. She lifted her head from his shoulder, and had a questioning look on her face. "Kero died for a reason?" Sakura asked, obviously having no idea what Syaoran was talking about.

"Well, yes," he replied, patting her back, "maybe Kero died for a certain reason. Only God knows why, but hey, it's just me saying stuff here. Don't believe anything I say. I mean, it's only a theory," and he pulled her back towards him. She slowly placed herself back into the position she was in with him, but didn't cry this time.

She dwelt on Syaoran's words. "Everything happens for a reason," he had said. She had thought about that for the next five minutes he had been holding her. What reason could Kero have died for? She couldn't think of one at the moment, because there was a small knock at the door.

"Miss Sakura," a maid had said, sticking her head out from behind the door, "a little girl is here to see you. Goes by the name Heart. Heart Puso. She says she knows you. Shall I send her away?" the maid asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No. Don't send her away. Send her in please," Sakura replied.

From behind the door, Heart stepped into the room. She didn't even notice Syaoran and Sakura at first, because she was too busy marvelling at all the beautiful things in Sakura's room. She was a poor orphan, and didn't get to see anything else other than the ratty old building she had spent her first five years of life living in. Sakura couldn't blame little Heart for exploring. Honestly, she thought it was very cute.

"Hi!" Heart finally said, stepping away from the music box which stopped playing it's soft melody when she had closed the lid, "what's the matter?" she asked, seeing Sakura's torn up appearance. She jumped on the bed, and hugged Sakura around the waist. "I can make things better!" she suggested.

Sakura sniffled and giggled. She picked heart up so that her legs were wrapped around her stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry, Heart. I'm afraid you can't. You see, my kitten died, and I miss him very much," Sakura explained, hoping to put things in a better point of view for Heart. "He ate something very nasty, and I think he died because it tasted so bad!". Sakura bit her lip. She wasn't exactly lying, just twisting the story.

"Icky!" Heart replied, sticking out her tongue in disgust. "I feel bad for your poor kitty. If it makes you feel better though, my mommy and daddy will be taking great care of him."

Sakura smiled. "Well, I'm glad. My mother and Syaoran's father will be helping them also,"

Heart's jaw dropped. Her eyes were like tiny coins, and her mouth made the shape of a large "O". "You guys don't have mommy's or daddy's either?" Heart asked. They'd only met a few days ago, and neither Syaoran or Sakura told her that they had lost one of their parents also. They didn't expect her to know, anyway, although most of the villagers did. She was only five, so they couldn't blame her.

"No," Sakura replied. "but, my daddy is still alive. So is Syaoran's mommy," and Sakura looked towards Syaoran's direction, forcing Heart to twist around and look at him. She stared at him for quite a while, and Syaoran had only stared back, with a wide smile on his face. Slowly, she removed herself from Sakura's arms, and crawled into Syaoran's. She kissed his cheek, and looked from both Sakura, to back at Syaoran.

"Sakura..." Heart dragged her name out, as if letting out all the breath she could. "are you and Syaoran in looooooveee?". Though this was a sad time for Sakura, she had to fight back the urge to laugh. Her and Syaoran? In love? Of course...not? Her sudden urge to laugh suddenly faded away when she actually thought about whether or not she was in love with Syaoran. She wasn't, right? The same thought that she hadn't thought about since that night on Christmas came floating back to her, like a once dimly lit candle, now a large flame.

After lots of hesitation, she came up with an answer. Yes. She was in love with Syaoran. Not because she actually loved him, but because she suddenly remembered they were putting on a show. They weren't actually in love. They were getting married for the sake of their parents, for all the things they'd done for them for the past eighteen years they'd been living. That was why she had conjured up the reason to say yes. Actually, at the moment, she wasn't too sure about that.

"Er...yes, Heart. We're in love. We're about to be married! Do you really think we'd marry each other if we didn't love one another?" Sakura acted, as though she was competely horrified by Heart's simple question - wait, scratch that. Horrified by Heart's complicated question. Stating whether or not you're in love with someone when you weren't even sure yet wasn't exactly as simple as Sakura hoped it would be.

"Oh..." Heart replied. She then looked to Syaoran, as if expecting an answer from him. Just like a sudden statue bursting into life, Syaoran joined into the conversation, hoping to keep the illusion that both Sakura and himself were in love.

"Yes," he began, nodding his head wisely, "Sakura and I are deeply in love. That's why we're getting married,"

"That's right," Sakura replied, "and one day you'll find a man, probably just as special as Syaoran, and you'll love him until you two grow old and stinky together!". Sakura hoped she was twisting things up to try and get Heart excited and grossed out. Kids always loved that. Heart, especially. She giggled, and Sakura giggled along with her. Sakura needed a laugh right then.

"Excuse me," the same maid popped in, her head bent down low, "Mrs. Roe, the orphanage instructor says it's time for Heart to go,". Slowly, she pushed the door open so that her whole body was seen. The maid was in her servant's uniform, and now there was just enough room for Heart to exit through the door.

Sadly, Heart said goodbye to both Syaoran and Sakura. Before exitting, she turned around and waved one last time. They watched as the servant held her hand and escorted her out of the castle, back to Mrs. Roe, and back to the smelly building she lived in. Sakura didn't like the idea of Heart leaving to go to a place like that. She shook her head disapprovingly.

"She's a nice girl," Syaoran stated, moving closer towards Sakura on the bed now that Heart was gone, "very gullible. Kind of like you," and he winked at her, making Sakura's cheeks flush.

The wink seemed to have snapped one of Sakura's brain waves. Her heart seemed to beat faster than normal, and yet for some reason, she felt like she couldn't breathe. All the colour began to rush up towards her cheeks, and she felt as though her whole face was swelling up into the shape of a large jack-o-lantern, with a crooked, odd face. She'd never experienced this feeling with Syaoran before. Not that she could remember, anyway.

Why had that happened? They'd kissed, they'd hugged, he'd basically seen her naked for God's sake. Why had that simple opening and closing of a single eye seem to get to her nerves so much? It couldn't be possible that she actually thought of Syaoran as more than a friend. Yet all the time they had spent with each other...the six months, the kisses, and everything else. When Sakura thought about it, being in love with Syaoran didn't seem as impossible as it did before.

Not wanting to make a decision so quickly on whether or not she loved Syaoran as something more than a friend, Sakura hastily got up, letting the used tissues fall to the floor. She cleaned her bed, quickly combed through the many tangles in her hair, dried her eyes as best she could, and thought up a quick excuse to not be in the same room as him. The whole time she felt Syaoran's eyes burning a whole through her body. Her feet led her quickly out of the castle to get some fresh air, and tried to promise herself not to think about Syaoran for at least another twenty-four hours.

**_xxxxxx_**

The next day, Sakura woke up feeling fresh, and slightly better. The other night before going to bed, an idea struck her, and she had formed kind of plan to sort out her feelings for Syaoran. She hoped that it would work, because if it didn't, she was back to square one on the drawing board.

On her way down the halls, Sakura suddenly felt quite proud of herself for feeling better. When she thought about Kero, she didn't burst out into tears, and whenever someone said his name, she wouldn't sob as loud as she use to! That was certainly an improvement for her. Sakura could definitely say that Heart's pep talk was better than Tomoyo, although Sakura knew that Tomoyo tried really hard to get through to her.

She walked the castle halls, and made her way into the large dining room. She entered only to see Fujitaka, Syaoran, and Yelan all seated around the long table, having their breakfast. At the sound of her entrance, all their heads snapped up, and they all plastered on wide smiles. Sakura greeted them a good morning, and took her place beside Syaoran, who was intently munching on his toast.

"How are you doing?" Fujitaka asked, hoping to see the improvement Sakura had made overnight. He lurched over the table, to see his daughter's face, and saw in astonishment that there were no tears, no wet eye lashes, no nothing. Just a straight, solemn face looking back into his. "I'm guessing you're doing quite well, indeed!" he said approvingly.

Sakura smiled and began to speak of her plans for the day. She spoke about going shopping, and doing some last minute wedding arrangements. Kero's death was certainly not going to keep her from getting married. The wedding would take place on the thirty-first of March, just as planned. She knew in her heart that Kero probably would've wanted her to, even thought it was to a man that called him a fat feline.

"Also..." Sakura said, as if hiding something from them. No one seemed to notice her mysterious voice, and Sakura was glad about that, "I was also wondering if we could bury Kero today. I'm certainly not just going to leave him wrapped up in that old blanket and throw him away," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Why, that seems like a nice thing to do," Yelan chimed, looking at Syaoran and Fujitaka for approval. They both nodded. "So then it's settled. We'll bury Kero today. Sakura, my dear, where exactly do you plan on digging his grave?" she asked, continuing to take large bites of her eggs.

"Actually," Sakura began, "I was wondering if Syaoran and I could just do it by ourselves..." and she paused. It wasn't her entire sentence, but she waited to see if Yelan, Fujitaka or Syaoran were okay with Syaoran and herself just burying him together. They kept their attention towards Sakura, and paid no objection to her idea, so she continued, "and dig his grave in the backyard of the cottage," she finally finished.

All three heads snapped up in her direction, not even bothering to continue eating their breakfast. "Why ever would you do that?" Yelan asked, as if it was the dumbest question she'd ever heard. No one else spoke. Fujitaka just stared at his daughter, while Syaoran darted his eyes back and forth from Sakura, to his Mother, as if it was an arguement waiting to happen.

"Well..." Sakurar said shyly, her eyes automatically drawn to the knuckles of her fingers, "I don't see why I can't do that. I know that Kero didn't want to be buried just anywhere, and I would really like it if Syaoran and I could bury him in the backyard of the cottage. Kero's never been there before, and I would love to show him what a beautiful place it really was,"

"Sakura, dear, you're talking as if he is alive," Yelan replied.

"Yes, well," Sakura continued, "is there something wrong with that?"

Then there was silence. Sakura had spoken so sharply, and so matter-of-factly that Yelan felt like she had been insulted with the most biggest, baddest, rudest swear word there was on the face of the planet. There was nothing she could do, but stare at Sakura, wide-eyed and shocked by her never before said (and quite good) come backs.

Slowly, to ease the tension, Syaoran spoke for the first time that morning, "Well Mother, do you have any objections?" and she didn't speak. Syaoran took her silence as a "no". "Alright then, Sakura. This evening at six, we will take a carriage back to the cottage and - " but he was cut off by Sakura, and the wave of her finger for him to be quiet.

"Actually, that won't be necessary," she interrupted, a smile creeping up towards her face, "I'd actually like it if we could walk there. It's a beautiful day outside, and in the afternoon, there most probably will be a nice breeze. It won't be uncomfortable, really. There is no need for anyone to drive us. And we'll dig the grave ourselves. No servants are needed," she finally finished. Syaoran was kind of shocked. Yesterday, she was the one trying to collect herself, and yet today, it seemed like she was making all the rules.

"Um, okay then," Syaoran agreed.

Sakura smiled, and stood up from her seat. "Okay then!" she echoed, and made her way out of the room. Sakura felt them their eyes upon her body, watch her exit with their round wide-eyes. She found it quite amusing, actually. It was fun to show people that you could do things that they never thought you would do.

She retired back to her room, and lay there for a few minutes. She thought about her plan to sort out her feelings for Syaoran, and she hoped and prayed that it would work. It wasn't a master plan or anything, but to her, she thought that it was the only way to figure things out. Suddenly, the plans that she had discussed during breakfast struck her hard, and she leaped off the bed, ready to start a new day.

**_xxxxxx_**

Sakura met up with Syaoran just half-way to the cottage. They both took carriages there, because if you remembered, it took at least a thirty-five minute drive there. Imagine how long it would take if the walked! So, on an agreement they made before they started their day, they would take a carriage to half-way towards the cottage, and walk the rest of the way. The carriages would still be there, waiting to take them back to the castle, however.

In her pale left hand, she carried with her a small basket. The basket contained Kero's dead, rotting body wrapped in a white blanket. Before going out however, she wrapped Kero in two or more thick blankets to keep the stench within himself and the basket. That seemed to work out quite well.

Syaoran joined her at the half-way marker (which was a tree stump), with his hand shoved into the deepest parts of his pockets. Neither of them spoke, they just walked along the trail leading towards the cottage, leaving the horse-drawn carriages far behind them. This wasn't going very well. Sakura's plan wasn't even carried out yet, and they'd been walking for at least ten minutes. This wasn't how she had planned it.

After walking in silence for quite a while, they arrived at the cottage. Neither of them walked inside, or took a left and made their way to the backyard. They only stayed, rooted the spot, staring at the cottage that they had called home. It seemed like it hadn't changed one bit since they had last seen it. The rocking chair and the hammock were still dancing along with the cool breeze, and the plants that they had once planted were still there. They had survived the long winter.

Sakura made the first move. She walked inside, and goggled at what she saw. The floor was covered in dust, and it seemed like she was entering it for the first time. The coffee table was still in place, the sofas, the two beds that she and Syaoran had once slept in. An overwhelming feeling suddenly swallowed Sakura, and both Syaoran who had entered the cottage just a few seconds after her.

Sakura tried hard to swallow the knot in her throat, and to keep the tears from spilling. Luckily, she succeeded, and she forced herself to walk away, towards the backyard. The flowerbeds were still there, but few flowers that Syaoran planted were still there. Obviously, most of them hadn't survived the harsh winter. Slowly, she dropped the basket onto one of the flower beds, and began to dig with her hands. Syaoran bent down, and began to help her.

In no time, they had dug a not large, and yet not small whole. Basically big enough to fit Kero, Sakura's beloved cat. Slowly, she lowered the basket into the grave. Sakura hesitated, and blew a kiss towards Kero before beginning to throw the dirt back into the whole. She was helped out by Syaoran, who still hadn't spoken a word. Slowly, the two of them got up, and brushed the dirt off of their clothes. Syaoran stood, his hands still in his pockets, and Sakura, with her arms over her chest.

Once again, they were caught in an uncomfortable silence. They only stared at the flower bed, which now contained Kero's rotten body. He could now rest peacefully, now that he was buried properly, and not lying in some blanket in the attic of the castle. Sakura was happy. Yet sad at the same time. Happy that she had gotten over with it. Sad that she actually had to say goodbye. Disappointed that her plan hadn't even been carried out yet.

"Um...Sakura? I have something for you - er - Kero," Syaoran said, out of the blue. From out of his pocket, he pulled out a block of wood, basically the same size as Sakura's palm. On it were carvings that Sakura could not read, until Syaoran handed it to her so she could. She held it close, and squinted her eyes. She acted as though she were blind.

_Kero Kinomoto_

_More Than A Cat,  
A Beloved Friend._

It read. Syaoran had carved out the words almost perfectly, and circled them in the paw of a kitten. Tiny hearts were also carved into the block of wood, and bits of paint here and there. Sakura was absolutely shocked. She'd always known that Syaoran hated Kero, so why had he done this?

"Syaoran..." she began, still inspecting the block of wood, "thank you. It's beautiful. I didn't know you were such a craftsman," she joked. Syaoran only smiled, which was enough for Sakura. She set it down on the big lump of dirty where Kero lay beneath, and plucked some flowers from the other flower bed. She placed them by Kero's grave, and stood once more, to admire her work.

"Do you think he'd like it?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded, not daring to speak, for fear of her voice cracking, and letting the large tears fall from her gorgeous eyes. She had questions. She needed them answered. She couldn't just not talk for this long, and so, she took a shot, "Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice not cracking. "Why would you make something for Kero, when you two have been at each other's throats since I got him?"

"Well," Syaoran said, "I thought it was the least I could do. Like a peace offering. So he can know that I'm sorry." and his gaze was suddenly cast to the ground, like it was a magnet. "I kind of did it for you," he finished.

Sakura was confused. "Me?" Sakura asked, "why would you do that for me?"

"Well, because I know you wanted us to be friends. I know you didn't want us to fight all the time, even though I know you enjoyed it when he tore at my skin. Just call it an early wedding gift," he said shyly.

All Sakura could do was stare her shoes. She was suddenly attacked by such strong emotions, that she couldn't seem to keep her eyes on anywhere but that. She wouldn't let herself look at Syaoran, because she'd be reminded of his generous "gift". She wouldn't look at Kero, because she would be reminded of his death, and how much she missed him. But she didn't need to look at anything to make her start crying. All she did was think about all the things she wouldn't let herself do, and she broke down in tears, once more.

Syaoran heard weeping to his left. He turned around, and saw Sakura, her head bent, her arms tightly folded across her chest, and big huge blobs of tears falling from her eyes. He didn't need to hesitate to pull her into his arms. He held her tightly, as if he'd never let go. And he wouldn't. Not until she told him to, and not until he thought it was necessary. She didn't tell him to, and he definitely didn't think it was necessary to let go of her - so he held her.

Sakura clung onto Syaoran for what seemed like forever. Her tears fell onto his clothing once more, but Syaoran didn't seem to mind. She threw her arms behind his back, and kept them firmly in place, as though showing him that she did not want him to let go. He obviously got the message, because he didn't. Not even when she lifted her head, to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she said, retracting her arms from his body, "I didn't mean to do that...I - "

"It's alright Sakura," Syaoran interrupted, "you know you can always cry on my shoulder. I mean, we're getting married, right? For better or for worse. I'm always, always here when you need me. No matter what," and he pulled her back, into yet another warm embrace. He dug his face into her auburn hair, and kissed the top of her forehead. With just one simple kiss, it seemed like he could take all her problems away. Sakura could definitely feel like she could get use to this.

**_xxxxxx_**

On the walk back to the carriages, Syaoran still never let go of Sakura. He held her tightly by the hand, and would not loosen his grip until he walked her back to her own carriage, where they both would be lead back to the castle. Sakura found that comforting.

As the carriage rolled along on the cobbled streets, Sakura looked out the window, and watched as the beautiful scenery became a big orange, red-ish, yellow blurr. She flew off with her thoughts once more, and she had finally come to a decision, on whether or not she loved Syaoran. It was a hard decision to make. It took her at least ten months to figure it out, and yet the answer was so simple.

Sakura loves Syaoran.

Authors Notes:

DUN, DUN, DUN!

She loves him! XD! EEK! ARE YOU EXCITED YET? AAHHH!

**NEWSFLASH: I have neopets, you geeks! HAHA. My user look-up will be set up as my home page on my biography, so feel free to go there! XD! Make me your neofriend if you want. Neo-mail me. Whatever. XD!**

**Read and Review!**

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	25. Second Thoughts

Authors Notes:

Hey there, guys! Sorry, but I'm not exactly in the mood to be making replies right now. I'm so tired. And there are just too many things to say if I were to reply. But just a quick thank you to all those who reviewed, because you have all gotten me half-way to 1,000 reviews. Thank you guys!

**NEWSFLASH: My 1,000th reviewer will get my love forever and ever! HAHA. Awesome prize, huh? I highly doubt I'll get there for this story, but for the next one, please, PLEASE support me in all ways possible! Constructive criticism comments are always welcome! (Ahem. Flames. Ahem)**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Make sure you tell that to the owners of CCS so they don't sue my ass to the very last penny I have. LOL.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter twenty-five!

**Second Thoughts**

Sakura had soon grown comfortable with the fact that she loved Syaoran. At first, she had become shy and timid around him. Just the other day, she took a long hard look at herself in the mirror, and came up with the idea that absolutely nothing was wrong with her relationship with Syaoran. The only thing that was different was the fact that she loved him as more than a friend. Nothing more had changed.

Boy, had she got it all wrong.

The weather had become light and crisp. The sun had grown into something Sakura was used to seeing, now that winter was basically over. The beautiful flowers began to bloom once more, some of which Sakura had been waiting to see all year. The cherry blossoms. Her favourite flower, for obvious reasons. Anyone who didn't know had to be stupid, or just not very familiar with her.

The days passed by quickly, and sooner than she had expected, it was the eve of her wedding day. She had everything prepared, no thanks to Syaoran, might I add. She had gotten all the decision making done, like which flowers would be present at the wedding, which music pieces the band was going play, and all those kinds of things. The gowns and suits were ready, and the food would taste like heaven. Everything was perfect. To Sakura, at least. She didn't know about Syaoran.

As she spent her last day as an un-married woman outside with the flowers, Yelan who was probably the most excited about the wedding more than anyone else joined her. It seemed as though with everyday passing by, and the wedding just inching closer, Yelan's nerves seemed to snap, and any mention of Sakura or her beloved son, she would burst out into tears, or boring speeches about how he had grown up so quickly. Syaoran had always just rolled his eyes, and told her to save it for the wedding.

Yelan stood beside Sakura in the gardens, the wind playing with tiny strands of her hair. Unlike hers, Sakura's was flying everywhere the wind blew. "So, Sakura my darling, how are you?" she asked, curiousity filling her voice. Her eyes watched Sakura as she plucked grass from the ground with her pale fingers, and dug her fingers into the dirty.

"I'm fine," she answered, not bothering to return the question to Yelan. It seemed she was too busy thinking about something, or rather someone, as the wind lost some of its strength, and shrunk down to becom a slight breeze.

"Not nervous about the wedding, are you?" she asked, as if daring Sakura to actually be nervous. Why on earth would she be doing that?

Sakura looked up at her, her eyebrows close together to show her confusion. Her eyes squinted as her gaze fell to the burning sun behind Yelan's back, and held her hand just above her eyes, to protect her vision. "Why? Should I be?" she asked. Sakura knew by now that Yelan was an expert on feelings, and honestly, she needed some help to reply. So, she answered the question with a question.

Yelan held her hands behind her back, as she walked forward into the garden. Sakura got up, hastily ran her dirt covered hands over her dress, and ran to catch up with Yelan. She stood, just a few steps behind her so she wouldn't see Sakura's still confused as ever face. "Well, dear," she began still pacing back and forth, "most people that I know that have great marriages, all tell me they had second thoughts at first. They began to think if they really wanted to be married, and doubt the person that they loved the most,"

She glanced at Sakura. "Are you feeling that way?"

Sakura cast her gaze towards the ground, and crossed her middle finger over top of her index finger from behind her back. "You know I don't love Syaoran in that way. We're going through with this marriage for you, and for my Father. It's all - " Sakura had begun. She was cut off by Yelan, speaking as though she was the most know-it-all person in the world.

"I hope you weren't about to tell me that it was all a lie," she continued, still not facing Sakura and walking onward, further into the garden. They had been walking for quite a while now. Really, how large was their garden anyway? Sakura's mind had drifted off once more, so when Yelan asked her if she really loved Syaoran as just a friend, she was caught off guard.

She had no idea what to say. She hadn't told anyone she loved Syaoran. Excluding Tomoyo, that is. She didn't even plan on telling him yet. She thought she would just tell him after they got married, and say that she had fallen in love with him then. But Yelan had just asked her, and it was obvious that she wanted an honest to God answer. Would Sakura giver her that kind of an answer?

"Well..." she dragged along, "I don't know," she finished.

Obviously not.

Yelan shook her head sadly, and made a clicking noise with her tongue. It seemed as if she was disappointed. Disappointed in what, though? She had asked a question, and Sakura hand answered it. Maybe not truthfully, but she still answered it. Yelan shouldn't have been disappointed. It couldn't be possible that she knew Sakura loved Syaoran as more -

"I know you love my son in more than one way, dear,"

Well, scratch that.

"...You do?" Sakura asked, oblivious to the fact that she had basically confessed her love for Syaoran infront of his own Mother.

"Yes, I do, dear," Yelan replied. She began to make her way onto the terrace, where she sat on the stone steps. Sakura followed suit, and hesitated to speak. She didn't know what to say at the time. So, she waited for Yelan. "When were you planning on telling him?" she asked finally. It only seemed like eons until she said something.

"I don't know. After the wedding, I guess," Sakura replied, looking into Yelan's brown eyes. They seemed intense, and deep in thought. Sakura had never noticed that in her before, which would explain the feeling of shock in her system.

"That's alright with me, then," Yelan said, getting up. Sakura did not do the same this time. "just so long as you do,". She made her way towards the entrance into the castle, and twisted the handle. She opened the door, but just before going inside, she said, "But don't break his heart, dear. If you give him yours, I guarantee he won't break it, so please, return the favour," and she shut the door, leaving Sakura confused on the stone steps.

_This is great,_ she thought.

_Now I have second thoughts!_

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran roamed around the hallway, looking for his bride-to-be. He had wanted to speak to her since morning, but he was mobbed by sudden thoughts that he had never once thought he would be thinking about. He spent the entire afternoon by himself, in a room, trying to figure something out, until he began to wander the halls.

He was about turn a corner, which would lead him to the door that seperated the castle from the terrace and the gardens. Sakura had always loved spending time in the garden. Maybe she would be out there? It wouldn't hurt to look, right? Besides, he had something on his mind that had really been bugging him. His Mother was really freaking him out when she spoke about those second thoughts. He hadn't had any at the moment, but just as she left, he realized that she had caused him to have them.

"Xiao-Lang, love," she had said, early that morning. She glided into the room, her arms spread wide. She hugged and kissed him on the cheek. Syaoran automatically shoved his hand in his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief, which he used to rub the stained red lipstick from his cheek. He rubbed at it for quite a while until Yelan began to speak again.

"What are your thoughts on the wedding?" she asked, her elbows on the table, and her head resting on both her hands. At that moment, Syaoran pictured his mom as an interested school girl as she use to be back in the day, but shook the thought off of his mind like it was a termite, and focused on the question.

"Um..." he began. He hadn't really thought about the wedding. Sure, he may have gone to an appointment or two, but Sakura was the one that was doing everything. He was very grateful, and if he could, he'd take as much part in the planning as he could, but he wasn't exactly very good at that. "Well, I don't know. Sakura's the one that - "

"No, darling," she interrupted, shaking his comment away with the flick of her hand, "I mean, what are your thoughts on the wedding? Not just the planning and preparations. Do you really love Sakura enough to marry her?" she asked. Syaoran looked at her dumbfounded, not knowing what to answer with. He didn't trust his voice at the moment, fearing he would say something he'd regret. His Mother caught his tongue in a bad situation.

"Mother," he said sternly, as if she was the daughter and he was the father, "you know that Sakura and I are only doing this for you and her father. It's nothing more than a - " he said. Irritation filling his eyes, he stopped once more when Yelan had interrupted him once again.

"I hope you weren't just about to say that the relationship you have with Sakura is nothing more than a show," she said, glancing at him through her beautiful black eyelashes, "I have a feeling you know it's not."

Syaoran raised his left eyebrow to its full extent. "What is that supposed to mean, Mother?" he asked, knowing full well what she had meant. Hoping to stall, he acted as if he didn't know, so he wouldn't have to answer the question that he knew his Mother was going to ask.

"Do you love Sakura like everyone in this Kingdom thinks you do?" she asked.

Syaoran only stared. He didn't dare answer at the moment. So many things had happened in the last few days, he wasn't sure about his feelings for Sakura. Either they were at each other's throats for some of the day, or they were acting like the in-love engaged couple that everyone thought they were. It was like he was a double agent. Pretending to be this person, when he's actually another. But now was the time, which most double agents must spend wisely, and decide...

Which person did he want to be?

Yelan didn't wait for an answer. She merely left him in his seat, with his confusing thoughts. He wished she'd stayed though. Just to help him sort out his feelings. His Mother was always good at that kind of thing, and he really needed her expertise at the moment. All he could do was sit in his seat, try his best to think about what his mother had just said, and make one final decision on how he felt about Sakura. It really couldn't be that hard, could it?

After spending the whole afternoon in the dining room, still rooted to his seat, Syaoran had made a decision. It was quite hard, really. He thought about all the things Sakura and he had been through for the past few years. They had grown up with each other, hating the other's guts. They lived together for half a year, causing confusion, and building a friendship no one thought would ever be. Then an engagement, which everyone was shocked to find out about. In the end, it all came down to one thing.

He had to tell Sakura how he felt. He didn't know if she'd be angry, sad, surprised or any of those things. Al he knew he had to do was tell her how he felt, no matter the outcome. So he turned the corner, exited through the door, and found Sakura, sitting on the grass by herself. Great timing.

(A/N**: Just because he's going to tell Sakura how he feels, does NOT mean he's in love with her. His feelings might be that he just wants to stay friends, and get married for the sake of their parents, or he really COULD be in love with her, and wants to tell her badly. You guess which one it is. I am NOT telling you.**)

**_xxxxxx_**

Quietly, without making a sound, Syaoran stepped out into the gardens where he and Sakura had, had so much of their childish fights and arguments. Embarrassing moments began flooding his mind, and making images in his brain. It was all quite amusing, really.

He sat down beside her, and unlike her cross-legged position, he sat flat on his but, his feet sticking out before him, and his arms and hands just behind his upper body, holding him up. Just after a few minutes sitting there in silence, his wrists began to ache, but he didn't care, and simply ignored the feeling. He had other things on his mind.

He looked out to the view before him. Below him and Sakura, was a large field, kept from the outside by the large castle walls. It was a very steep hill they were sitting on at the moment, and if someone stumbled down and hit the wall, they'd be in a lot of pain. So he was sure that his butt and hands were firmly stuck against the grass. He didn't want to end up like Jack and Jill, did he?

"Hi," Sakura began simply, looking to Syaoran. He twisted his head to her direction and smiled, not bothering to answer. It didn't seem to bother Sakura, because she probably took his smile as a reply. That was alright for Syaoran. Just as long as he didn't speak until his speech about the way he felt for her was thoroughly thought up.

"Nervous about the wedding?" she asked. She certainly was nervous, since Yelan had spoken to her about it, and she was very curious to know if Syaoran was also. He wasn't one to be nervous most of the time, but the most strongest, silent, mysterious man in the world couldn't help the feeling of nervousness claiming his body just a day before his own wedding. Sakura was sure of that.

"Well..." Syaoran said, his gaze ripping out of Sakura's direction and into the other. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk about,"

Sakura's head suddenly flicked to the side to look at him, and he had a kind of weird look on her face. In a flash, she got out of her sitting position and stood up, and began to tower over him. Not for long, as he stood up also, to try and see what the problem was.

"Sakura," he said, a questioning look on his face, "what's the - "

"Is there something wrong with the wedding?" Sakura suddenly began, the most worried look coming onto her face and into her eyes.

"What?" Syaoran asked, holding up a hand to make her stop talking, "I meant - "

Sakura interrupted him once more, and began to talk in a high, fast voice, "Oh dear, it's the caterer isn't it? I told Tomoyo not to order the damned smoked salmon! It was too much for them! They won't show up will they? No, it's not that. It's the flowers isn't it? The cherry blossoms are dead? How? Did they pick them wrong? Were they not fed properly? What flowers am I going to have at my wedding now? No. It's basically spring! They won't die. Damnit, it's my dress, isn't it? Oh God, anything but my dress - !"

Syaoran could not shut Sakura up. She began to blabber on about what the supposed glitch was in the wedding. He had tried speaking so many times, but she had dismissed his futile attempts to speak with the wave of her hand, only began to drone on and on about what could be wrong. So, he did what he thought he should do. He shook her.

Grabbing her shoulders with both his hands, he swung her back and forth, to shake her out of her worried trance. She had immediately stopped talking, and was no screaming in protest for him to stop. She was getting fairly dizzy.

"Syaoran! What - are - you - doing?" she asked, between shakes and shoves.

"I'm trying to get your damned mouth shut!" he replied, still shaking her.

"Stop!" she screamed, a smile creeping up onto her dizzy face. Quickly, she ripped herself away from his grasp, and began to breath heavily as if she had just run the longest foot face in the world. Syaoran was smirking, and holding in a fit of giggles that he was so tempted to let out. Sakura noticed this, and glares a whole through him. Slowly, she walks up to him, and gives him a good hard shove.

Syaoran takes a step backwards because of the impact of her push. He stares at her, astonished by her actions. "You shouldn't have done that," he replies, in a fake dangerous voice. He inches towards her, as if he was going to do something even worse. Slowly, with a smile on her face, Sakura takes a few steps backwards, just to maintain a small distance between Syaoran.

"You're going to face the wrath of..." he said, the smile growing wider and wilder on his face, "The Tickle Monster!" and he closed the space in between them, and let his hands roam around her body, mostly her stomach. His fingers worked their magic, and Sakura began to laugh. He knew since he was seven-years-old that Sakura was extremely ticklish.

"Stop!" she choked out, between giggles and chuckles. "Please - haha - stop!"

"Not until you say sorry!" Syaoran replied, tickling her everywhere now. Both his hands weaved their way into her stomach, giving such a strong tingling sensation, that Sakura could no longer breathe. She didn't mind getting tickled by Syaoran, though. Getting touched by the man you loved most was something she didn't mind at all.

"Syaoran - seriously - haha - stop - hahaha," she choked out, "the - haha - the hill! We're going to - hahaha - stop!" she cried out helplessly. Not because Syaoran had gone to far with the tickeling, but because if they took one more step, they would be tumbling down the steep hill, and banging their backs into the hard castle wall.

"Why? Can't you take a little - AHH!" Syaoran began. He was cut off by his own piercing scream, as he and Sakura tumbled down the steep hill, gathering more than just grass in their mouth. He held Sakura tight to him, afraid that if he let go, he would lose her forever. So together they tumbled, one on top of the other over and over again, until they reached the bottom.

Everytime Sakura was on top of Syaoran, she had seen the castle wall coming closer and closer. She really didn't want to hit it. The castle wall was strong, and had been keeping them safe from intruders and the garden from harsh weather - imagine how it'd be if it protected itself from two tumbling humans? The outcomes were endless.

So, as hard as she could, Sakura held onto Syaoran, and pushed him against the grass. The resistance of Syaoran's back against the grass slowed them down, and eventually, they had stopped just inches away from hitting the brick wall. After a few seconds, Sakura sighed, and tried to lift herself up from Syaoran's body. She was still a little shaky, and the minute she had raised herself into a push-up position, she fell back down again, her head buried into Syaoran's chest.

She suddenly began to feel Syaoran's chest heave up and down. It felt weird at first, but now it felt as if it were vibrating. She lifted her face up from Syaoran's chest, and saw that he was laughing. At first they were giggles, but they had become loud chuckles, loud and contagious enough for Sakura to start laughing also. They were both laughing so hysterically; passers by probably would've thought they were mentally ill. Luckily, the wall kept them safe from unwanted looks or snickers from other people.

As soon as their laughter died down, Sakura had looked into Syaoran's amber eyes. She thought of the quote she had once heard when she was little. When you looked into the eyes of the one you love, they say they look different. Did he? Sakura dove in for the experiment. His eyes seemed less intense, but more beautiful. There seemed to be more joy in there than she had detected last time. Syaoran definitely looked different - in a very, very good kind of way.

She suddenly realized that she was on top of him still. Slowly and reluctantly, she lifted herself off of him, and placed herself beside him. In just a few minutes, they were in the same position they were in a few minutes ago: Sakura cross legged, Syaoran with his feet stuck out before him, and his arms behind his upper body, supporting him. Then, Sakura remembered why they had rolled down the hill in the first place.

"What was it about the wedding?" she asked curiously.

This time, Syaoran did not hesitate. "Well, Sakura. Ever since we were little, you'd tell me how you wanted to marry someone you loved. Someone you knew you could grow old with...Someone you thought could be capable and right to Father your children," he finished. Sakura eyed him with a suspicious face plastered on.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"Well...do you see that in me?"

Sakura could only stare. Was she really ready to answer this kind of question? Was she really ready to tell him how she really felt? She thought she would just tell him after the wedding, but just like his Mother, he wanted an honest to God answer. Unlike last time, would she give him one?

"I..." Sakura began breathlessly, "I...I certainly think that you have the potential to be a great husband. I also know for a fact that you will love the children that you father with all your heart, and give them nothing but the best in their life, but..."

"But?" he coaxed.

"I just don't love you that way," and with that, she stood up, and began to walk up the steep hill, by herself. She had just lied to the man she loved, and all for what? Because she wasn't ready? Because she wanted to make up some lame excuse that she fell in love with him after they got married? Or was it just because she was a coward? In her head, Sakura seemed to be going with choice one and two.

Syaoran sat on the ground, not shocked by his answer, but...He didn't know what to feel. The feelings he had once had for Sakura were crushed. After all the long hard thinking, he came up with the answer that he truly did love Sakura. But, after hearing her say that she didn't love him, his feelings quickly changed. He was such an egotistic moron. Just because the woman he loved didn't love him back, he wouldn't love and wait for her until they day she did? He was a coward. Just like Sakura.

It was all just lust, Syaoran thought, shaking his head miserably. He had allowed himself to think the other way, when really, he didn't love Sakura at all. He knew he wasn't the smartest person around, but could he really have been that stupid to think he actually loved her?

_I don't love Sakura,_ he thought, standing up straight and beginning to climb the slightly steep hill.

_Right?_

Authors Notes:

He doesn't love Sakura! AAHH! What a shock! XD!

**Read and Review**, bizznatches.

**NEWSFLASH: GUESS WHAT! I passed with FLYING FREAKING colours on my science test. I suck at science. It's my worst subject in the world. This has to be the first time that this has ever happened! AHH! -**goes around screaming and running like a maniac**-**

Lots of looooove!

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	26. Behind These Eyes

Authors Notes: WHOAA...A little TOO much reviews, but that's always alright ;-)

**SeleneNight904**: Aw, thanks so much. XD!

**DEVILZ CHIK**: You updated! And you dedicated the freaking chapter to me! YOU'RE FREAKING AWESOME! You so, totally, totally need to be on my cool cats list. KUDOS! Luv ya!

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**mystikalstarz**: Yes. That's exactly it. Syaoran doesn't think he loves Sakura anymore because she doesn't love him back. He's such an egotistic moron, eh? GEESH! HAHA. Thanks for your review, hottness!

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**LupineLightning-IllusionDragon**: Hey, hottness. Thanks for reviewing on my chapter once again! You're the best-est. Goodluck with your school work and all that. It's always a bitch, but in the end, it'll all be worth it, right? XD!

**MewMewPower389**: Thanks so much. You're so adorable. "When you were born I think an angel kissed your hands so you could write like this," - You're so beautiful! HAHA. You're so totally on my cool cats list now! I love you so much. :-P.

**This chapter is dedicated to MewMewPower389! She reviews so much. Thanks a lot, MewMewPower389! You're too cool! XD!**

**IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE: This chapter is the LAST chapter of **Different Feelings**. Well, not really. I'm going to be adding an epilogue after this, (YES, just ONE), and then it will be finished. Thank the Almighty Lord. XD!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, bizznatches XD! I also don't own the song I am using in this chapter. It was written and produced by a bunch of other people I don't know, so don't sue me XD!

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Second Key:  
_Italic font_ - song lyrics  
_**Italic/bold**_ font - words/sentences once said

Now...on with chapter twenty-six!

**Behind These Eyes**

_Seems just like yesterday,  
You were apart of me,  
I use to stand so tall,  
I use to be so strong..._

Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, her emerald eyes filled with long held in tears. With the tissue covering her nose, she wept, the sobs coming louder and louder each time. What had she gotten herself into? A loveless marriage? An unwanted one? A complete lie? All of that, and definitely so much more.

_You're arms around me tight,  
Everything it felt so right,  
Unbreakable,  
Like nothing could go wrong._

**_I will love you,_** he had said.

It was all a lie. All of it. She loved him, but she never told him, and she expected him to love her back? She was expecting too much. Her hopes were set too high. Her mind was clouded by the love that she had never felt before, causing her to make such horrible mistakes. Mistakes that she would regret for probably the rest of her married life to Syaoran. Why had she done it?

**_To the very last tear drop, to the very last breath of both your life and mine - I will love you._**

"Liar," she hissed. Slowly, she got up from her seat and walked up towards the dresser. On it was was a beautiful portrait of herself and Syaoran as tiny children. The artist who had drawn the beautiful piece of art did not forget to trace the gorgeous outline of their faces, and the shades of their eyes. It was so beautiful, yet, why did it seem to ugly in Sakura's eyes?

_Now I can't breathe,  
No, I can't sleep,_

She picked it up.

_I'm barely hanging on..._

And smashed it against the wall, the glass shattering into a million bits and pieces. The picture however, unharmed.

_Here I am,  
Once again,  
I'm torn into pieces,  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
I just thought you were the one..._

She threw herself onto the bed, and began to tear the sheets apart. The pillows which were once comfortable uses for sleep were now torn, the goose feathers lying on the floor, some still in the air, floating slowly downwards. In just a few minutes, the entire room was a pig sty. The rage in Sakura's eyes didn't even begin to reflect upon the mess.

_Broken up, deep inside,  
But you won't get to see  
The tears I cry..._

_Behind these hazel eyes..._

**_No matter the circumstances, the situation - anything. I will be at your side to guide you. To pick you up when you're down, to be the rock you can lean on when you no longer have the strength to carry on. I am here. Forever, and always._**

Her hands covered her eyes as the tears began to spill uncontrollably. As she wiped her pained eyes with the back of her hand, she felt something cold brush against her cheek. Slowly, she brought her hand up so that it was level with her eyes, and glared at the pink cherry blossom carved diamonds hanging from her bracelet. It was Syaoran's Christmast gift to her.

"I love you this much?" Sakura questioned the bracelet, as if it were Syaoran. She shook her head miserably and threw it against the wall. It did not break, nor did any petal become detatched. All it did was fall simply onto the ground and lay on the carpet, where Sakura would not pick it up.

_I told you everything,  
Opened up and let you in,  
You made me feel alright,  
For once in my life..._

In a whisper-soft voice, Sakura repeated Syaoran's wedding vows. "**_I will love you with every beat of my heart. Should it ever stop, I will watch you from above, and take care of you there. I will watch you and keep you from harm. Let my love surround you, and keep you from any more heart aches,_**"

She scrunched her fingers up into a fist, her knuckles turning whiter with every second. "At least everything I said was true!"

_Now all that's left of me,  
Is what I pretend to be,  
So together but so broken  
Up inside._

_'Cause I can't breathe,  
No, I can't sleep,  
I'm barely hanging on..._

_Here I am,  
Once again,  
I'm torn into pieces,  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
Just thought you were the one,  
Broken up, deep inside...  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry...  
Behind these hazel eyes._

Sakura wept on the bed, her head buried into what was left of the blanket. The tears fell, and she cried loud sobs. She didn't care if anyone heard her. No one probably did, anyway. They were all too busy celebrating downstairs drinking rum, having a ball, and all that has to do with celebrating weddings. They were all spreading their joy around for a marriage that wasn't even what they thought it really was.

The door suddenly opened, and Sakura's head snapped up. Hadn't she locked it?

"Sakura? Sakura! Where are you? There's an angry mob of people downstairs wanting to see - "

Sakura groaned. Syaoran. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. He was exactly the person she needed at the moment. That's right, the man she was pining over, the man she loved the most, and the man that did not love her back. The man that caused her to make such a mess in her own bedroom. Such a perfect situation, do you agree?

"What..." he spluttered, entering the ghastly mess. The two glasses of wine he was once holding up suddenly dropped to the floor, making yet another mess in Sakura's wild room. "What on earth happened here?"

"Get out," Sakura snapped, getting up. Her face was streaked with tears, and all the make-up she was wearing had vanished. She looked just as disgusting as her room did. But she didn't care. All she wanted was for Syaoran to get out of the room, the marriage, everything. "Get out!" she yelled once more, when Syaoran did not heed her instructions.

Slowly, he walked towards the door. He turned the handle, and just as Sakura thought he was going to step out, he shut it, and locked it from the inside. What was he up to now? Whatever it was, Sakura was definitely not in the mood for it. He would just have to save his stupid wedding aftermath games until she was feeling better.

"What are you still doing here?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking underneath the tension in the room. More tears were going to spill. She just knew it. No. She would not cry infront of the man that caused her to weep this much. "I told you to get out!" she screeched, grabbing the nearest sharp object she could find and throwing it at him.

She just barely missed Syaoran. The China glass whizzed past his right cheek, hitting the wall and shattering into pieces. He had not once flinched or bothered to duck when she had thrown it. He didn't even twitch when the glass broke just behind him. Not at the noise, or not at the risk that one of the pieces of glass could cut him.

He only stared at her with concentrated amber eyes. They were so calm, and yet Sakura was not. Why was this? "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

Sakura snorted. Her snort soon became sarcastic laughter as she shook her head and got up on her feet. She gathered her wedding gown into her arms and walked out onto the balcony. She could hear the joyous laughter and gossipping mothers from where she stood. One of the doors that lead to the ballroom must've been kept open to let the breeze in. She heard movement from behind her, and knew that it was Syaoran following suit, but did not bother to acknowledge him.

"You want to know why I'm doing this?" she asked, looking down at the gardens below her. "Because I didn't want this marriage. I didn't want any of it. And, alright, maybe I wanted some of it, but how could I have known it would end up like this?"

"Like what?" Syaoran replied.

Sakura spun around and threw her hands up in the air for gesture. "Like this, Syaoran!" she replied, her voice beginning to raise once more, "Like this! You! And me! We're just so mixed up with our bloody feelings we don't know how we feel for each other anymore! Hell, maybe you don't, but damnit, Syaoran! I do!"

Syaoran's voice was whisper-soft, but you could clearly understand every word he was saying. Sakura watched as he swallowed the knot in his throat, and tried to speak clearly. "You do?" his voice was shaky. "How do you feel about me then?"

Sakura snorted once more. "You don't know? You don't know! Ha!" was all she could say. "Syaoran, dear, I thought you were smarter than this,"

Syaoran tried again, "How do you feel about me?"

"Don't be stupid Syaoran!" Sakura replied, looking at him straight in the eye. Emerald met amber, and tension clashed. "I love you, damnit!". Syaoran stared at her, with wide disbelieving eyes. Sakura could tell what he was thinking. He didn't believe her. "Don't ask so surprised!" she continued, making her way out of the balcony and back into the bedroom, "It was so obvious! The way I acted around you!"

"You love me?" he asked numbly, ignoring everything she'd just said.

Sakura groaned and muttered a bloody hell underneath her breath. "Yes, damnit! Do you need me to spell it out for you? I bloody L - O - V - E love you!"

They stood in silence for a moment, and neither of them spoke. Syaoran shifted his wait from foot to foot as he dwelt on one certain question, but was too afraid to ask it. So he let the silence drone on. Until he finally plucked up the courage, that is.

"Why did you say that you didn't?" he asked.

Sakura was hit by surprise with this question. All though she knew full well what he was talking about, just yesterday in the gardens, she acted as though she didn't know what he was talking about, just to get some extra time to think of a good enough excuse. "What?" she asked dully.

"Why did you say that you didn't?" he repeated, more firmly this time. "Yesterday? In the gardens? You said you didn't love me the way I asked you if you did. And you said you didn't. Why?"

Not ready to answer, Sakura shook her head and began to walk towards the door. "I don't need to be interrogated from you! Leave me alone," she said, as if ending their conversation altogether. As she walked passed Syaoran to get to the door, he grabbed her elbow - tightly - to keep her from going anywhere else. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying to rip her elbow out of his grasp, "Leave me alone!"

He suddenly took hold of her waist, and placed her firmly infront of him. It was obvious he wanted her as an audience, and just to get out of his presence quickly, she did not resist. "I was ready to tell you yesterday," he began. He could tell that she was confused. "I was so ready to tell you that I loved you yesterday. But you said you didn't love me, and so I retracted my thoughts. If you don't like the way that this marriage is going so far, then you only have yourself to blame,"

Sakura stood, dumbfounded at his words. "Myself? Myself to blame?" she asked disbelievingly. "I can't believe you just said that! Let me get this straight. You were going to tell me you loved me yesterday, but because I wasn't ready to tell you, you just suddenly take back your feelings and twist everything up? If there is anyone to take the fault, it's you, not me!" and with that said, she ripped her elbow out of his firm hold. She would pine elsewhere.

"Don't go!" he said. It was not a request.

"Go to hell," was Sakura's reply. She walked towards the door, and suddenly felt something slippery from beneath her high heels. It was watery, and very slippery. She realized that it was the wine that Syaoran had spilled. She fell, but luckily not on any glass. Syaoran had pushed her away from any loose glass while she was still in the air, and they both landed, with him on top of her.

Luckily, she fell on her butt first, and her head afterwards, so it didn't hurt very much. Still, Sakura grunted in pain, and attempted to get up. She felt Syaoran's smooth hand run across her forehead, and brush away any loose hair. He did it serveral more times, though she knew there was none there anymore. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and saw that Syaoran's once calm eyes were filled with concern. Great. That was the last thing she wanted. His concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Sakura grunted once more, and placed her palms on Syaoran's masculine chest. She pushed and shoved as hard as she possibly could, but Syaoran had locked his legs on either side of hers, keeping her from moving, and his elbows on her arms. She was paralyzed - for the moment at least.

"Get off!" she screamed, the tears threatening to spill. "Get off!"

"No," Syaoran said firmly. His breathing became raspy. It was as if he had just ran one thousand miles without any water breaks. "I want you to tell me," he started. His concentration was disrupted when Sakura turned her head side ways. He shoved it back into place, facing him, and he heard her try to restrain herself from crying out. He didn't care. He needed to know the truth. "I want you to tell me," he continued, "and I want you to look me in the eye. Do you really love me?"

The tears pooled around Sakura's eyelashes. Her breathing became uneven also, and her wedding dress was probably torn by now. She would love to clean herself up, but Syaoran would not let her move. She had to answer. She swallowed hard, and tried to answer, but she did not trust her voice. So, she nodded. "Yes," she said, "I love you,"

She felt Syaoran's legs on either side of hers loosen up, and his elbows did not restrain her arms anymore. He was letting her go, but Sakura did not move from beneath him. She kept still.

He studied her eyes, as if inspecting her of any lies. How could he not believe her? She had just poured her heart out to him, and he still did not believe her? This was just stupid. But Sakura did not mind it. She liked the tingling feeling she got whenever he looked at her this way. She hoped he wouldn't stop.

Unexpectedly, he closed the space in between their faces, and gave her the sweetest kiss she was ever to receive. Though she didn't even stay for at least five minutes of the wedding reception, and did not eat any food, her lipst still tasted like cherries. They always did. It was a wonder how they maintained such a mouth watering taste.

Sakura's mind filled with wonder. He tasted like...chocolate.

Syaoran lifted his face up, and Sakura was shocked to see him smiling. "I love you too," he replied, and they both began to laugh.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and all four of Syaoran's sisters stood, wide-eyed at the scene before them. Just like Syaoran and Sakura, however, they burst out into a fit of laughter - laughter which could probably be heard downstairs. Reluctantly, Syaoran rolled off of Sakura, and they both stood beside each other, staring at their feet and nothing else.

"Mother!" Feimei hollered, "I think little brother and Sakura are just a little too anxious to create an heir!"

_No I don't cry,  
On the outside,  
Anymore..._

Authors Notes:

I'm sorry if you think this is too short. I have a huge social studies project due this week and so the epilogue won't be coming any time soon.

The song used in this chapter is called **Behind These Hazel Eyes**, sung by **Kelly Clarkson**. Unlike some songs, I'm sorry I don't have a source for you to listen to this one! XD! I didn't use all of it, by the way. XD!

I hope you liked the fluffiness! (Excuse any typos)

Enjoy!

Read and Review!

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


	27. Epilogue

Authors Notes:

BAM, BABY! I'm back with my latest (and last) EXPLOSIVE FREAKING chapter of **Different Feelings**! Go me, go me, what, what? GO ME!

**nearinsane**: Thanks so much for your compliments. I really love it when I get compliments! XD! LOL, it's okay that you didn't review on chapter twenty-five. Just as long as you read it :-P. Thanks so much for your reivew!

**Pinaygrrl**: No...No! I didn't want to make you cry! XD! LOL. Thanks for your compliment about my Social Studies project! I really hope I rock on it :-P. HAHA. Thanks so much for always reviewing. You're the best! Thanks so much for your review! XD!

**SakK**: LOL. You're sweet. Don't worry - the part in your review when you said that you hoped the epilogue would never come so the story wouldn't end - I didn't take it in a wrong way. It's so nice of you to want that of my story :-). Thanks for your review!

**kawaii star tenshi**: I'm so glad my story made your day :-). Thanks for your review!

**YellowRoseThorn**: NO! I didn't want to make you cry either! (Look above to Pinaygrrl's reply). AHCK! Anyway, it's okay that you haven't been reviewing. I really don't mind :-). Anyway, thanks for your feedback. It's really appreciated! XD! Thanks for your review!

**redgrrl**: AHCK! I hope you don't tattle on me! XD! I hope you don't take that as an insult, because I don't mean it to be...XD! I suck with words. HAHA. Anyway, thanks for your review! It's nice to know that you loved the last chapter :-). Thanks so much for your review!

**DEVILZ CHIK**: Damn STRAIGHT! You better update! HAHA. Thanks for your review!

**LupineLightning-IllusionDragon**: Thanks so much! I'm really, really glad you liked the fluff parts! XD! Thanks for your review. You always review constantly, even when you don't have the time. Thanks for being there for me all the time. Thanks so much for your review!

**Cherry Izzy**: AHCK! Yes, I'm afraid it's over! XD! But don't worry...I'll be here to make another story for you guys sooner or later! XD! LOL. Thanks so much for your review...You're the best ever!

**Mikkasura**: LOL. Thanks so much! I don't like to think of my writing as a talent, but...I don't know. A hobby, I guess. LOL. You know what? I am proud of this story, but I'm so relieved that it's finally over, because I really, REALLY want to start on another story for you guys! Thanks so much! You're the best!

**Sakume Nohara**: Thanks...Someone has never made me blush so madly! But...the best-seller part? You're kidding, right? The publishers would give me a straight out THUMBS DOWN on this story. LOL. But I'm so happy that you think my writing is best-seller worthy. You're the best. Thanks so much for your review!

**coconut juice**: HAHA. Thanks for the correction, and thanks for your review!

**animeflower**: YEAH! GO SYAORAN AND SAKURA! Finally have the FREAKING guts to admit their FREAKING feelings. HAHA. Thanks so much for your review!

**mystikalstarz**: AHCK! I hope your spanish teacher didn't kick you out! LOL. Thanks so much for your review. I really hope you create an account so I can like...You know...I don't know. Just make one, damnit! LOL! Thanks so much for your review!

**wolfiee-chan**: Favourite Author List? NOO FREAKING WAY. PFFT. That dumb list doesn't even COMPARE to my cool cat list! And guess who's in top freaking five! YOU! Damn straight! HAHA. But you know what? You're so cool...You sleep with a parka during the SUMMER! You're so HOTT that...that...When your moma had a barbeque she put the steak on YOU! BWAHA! LOL...I'm weird too XD! And I hope you take those as compliments XD! Thanks so much for your reviews!

**moonlight-stella**: Yes, they did get married. Thanks for your review!

**Kayapride**: I'm glad you chose to read it! XD! Thanks for your review!

Now...Anyway, now that I'm finished with all the freaking replies that took me so freaking long, I would just LOVE to thank each and every one of you for your support. Thanks so freaking much!

Disclaimer: I don't own this story...However, I do own...YOU! HAHA. Just kidding. Only about the owning you part. HAHA.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with the last chapter!

**Epilogue: Always a Happy Ending**

Six long years has passed since the fateful day that Syaoran and Sakura confessed their love for one another. They lived happily together, always cherishing every moment they spent as a married couple. The first year went smoothly, and not one fight erupted between them, which was a good, yet weird sign. Which married couple didn't fight every now and then? Neither of them could think of any. All they wanted to do was keep their fighting record as a married couple clean.

During their first year of marriage, basically still newlyweds; Syaoran and Sakura were blessed with wonderful news that a baby was on the way. Everyone in the castle, village, and kingdom were so joyful that they held a parade to celebrate the coming of their first child. Both couples thought that their happiness would never, ever end. Not in this lifetime, at least.

After a full nine months, Syaoran and Sakura were not pleased to see that the baby still had not come. A week had passed, and still, no baby. Sakura became scared that it would never come, but Syaoran, being the caring, loving husband he was, came to her rescue and saved her before she officially went insane with impatience. But one fateful evening, a rainstorm had engulfed the entire kingdom. Not even Sakura's mother, who absolutely loved the rain, would dare go outside.

That was when Sakura began to feel the contactions. Short waves of pain shot through her stomach. All the cramps she missed out on for nine months came flooding back to her stomach, causing her to cry out loud in her sleep. Her screaming had wakened Syaoran up, and he had no idea what was wrong with her. He knew that Sakura's pain had something to do with the baby, but he couldn't tell if it had to do with the process before birth, or if it had to do WITH the birth. They could both remember that night so clearly.

"Syaoran!" Sakura had cried, sweat pouring down her face, "The baby! It's coming! It's coming!"

Syaoran panicked. He didn't know what to do. He had never been trained to give birth to a pregnant woman! How was he supposed to help with the birth of his own son? He had to call someone - quickly. But he couldn't possibly leave Sakura in the castle by herself while he went to get the doctor. The doctor was probably home, anyway. The rainstorm caused everyone to flee from work, and if he did, it would've just been a waste of time, and for all he knew, Sakura could have had the baby without him!

"How do you know?" Syaoran asked, lighting a few candles while he heard the breath of his wife turning into short, quick gasps. It was as if she couldn't breathe, and she was fighting for her life to get some air. He walked over to her and spread her legs, and saw that her uturus was at least four centimetres wide.

"I just know!" Sakura replied, tears forming in her eyes, "Syaoran...Syaoran, it hurts! Please help me!" she cried, squeezing his hand with all her might. She did not want the birth of her child to be in this room. She wanted it with her husband, her father, her mother in law, and everyone else she loved. But how could that be possible?

Hours and hours passed and Sakura's uturus was still not wide enough for the baby to come out. All Syaoran could do was comfort her, and assure her that in just a few more hours, their lives would be changed for the better because of the tiny bundle of joy that she would be holding if she was just a little more patient. It seemed to be working, because Sakura wasn't crying out loud so much. Syaoran couldn't bare to see his wife crying so hard, and with tiny beads of sweat forming at the top of her forehead.

Sakura could just read Syaoran's thoughts. She knew that he thought she wasn't in as much pain. But she was. More pain than she has ever been in, in her entire life. But she wouldn't let it show. She knew that Syaoran hated seeing her in this state, so she kept her feelings inside her, hoping to create a scene showing that she was absolutely fine, and that Syaoran's words helped her. Although they did, they didn't seem to take the pain away. But she knew it would all be worth it after the birth of her baby. And she knew it was, when the rain suddenly stopped, and her uturus became big enough for the baby to come out.

She gave birth to a beautiful, handsome baby boy with amber eyes, just like his daddy. Tiny, black hairs sprouted from the top of his head, and in time, they would grow to become auburn, to match the beautiful head of his proud mother's. The proud mother that sat on the bed, still heaving as if she had just been underwater for a lifetime. Syaoran cut the baby's umbilical cord, and held him for a while. Happily, he gave him to Sakura to hold, and she embraced him with all the warmth she could muster up in the state she was in.

She would love him with all her heart, with the same love she knew her mother had nurtured her with. She would raise him to be a strong, loving gentleman with the help of his caring father. Who knew that in just six years he would become a hyper six-year-old, just as active as Syaoran was when he was his age. He was Taichi Li. The son of the happiest couple in the world.

Sakura smiled as her baby squirmed in her arms. She had a beautiful son, a loving husband, a great family, and awesome friends. What more could she want? Her fighting record with Syaoran was still clean, and she hoped that it still would be when her baby grew up. But every couple has it's ups and downs. Even their relationship couldn't last without at least one fight...

**_xxxxxx_**

The day started out bright, and everyone child in the kingdom seemed to be relishing the beautiful spring as much as they possibly could. The flowers sprouted from their original spots, finally breathing a bit of air after the cold winter. They swayed with the breeze, letting their petals fly along with it, landing on the top of people's heads.

Unfortunately, the day did not reflect upon the moods of the people in the castle. It was not happy, or comfortable just like the weather. It was angry, and full of confusion. The servants could barely believe their ears. All the screaming and all the insults! What on earth had gotten into the happiest couple in the world? They'd never heard such a racket since seven years ago, when Sakura and Syaoran were not married, but careless seventeen year olds.

Sakura glared at her husband as he glared back at her. She glowered with anger as she walked towards him in an angry fashion. Her arms were folded across her chest, just like always when she got into an argument with Syaoran. But she hadn't done that since seven years ago. It was something both she and Syaoran were surprised to find her doing.

"We will not," Sakura said calmly, her voice threatening to raise.

"Who said that this was all up to you?" Syaoran asked.

"I will not betroth Tai!" she replied, her voice almost over the limit.

Syaoran walked up to his wife with a cautious look on his face, and brought a hand up to her mouth. She removed it harshly, glowering at him. "Be quiet!" he hissed, looking out the open window which would display the beautiful view of the gardens below them, "Tai might hear you!" he warned, taking a few paces back.

"I don't care!" Sakura began once more, beginning to pace back and forth, "I hope he hears me! I hope he hears that his idiot of a father is trying to betroth him to that Clarissa girl! You know how he feels about her! They're just friends! Why on earth would he want to marry her? And why on earth would you discuss this with her parents behind my back?"

"Sakura," Syaoran replied, a hopeless look on his face, "I didn't mean to talk about it behind your back! You weren't there, that's all! You were on that trip remember? So I just talked about it with them! We haven't agreed or anything...We're just thinking of betrothing them!" Sakura could tell he was now on the defensive.

"Syaoran Li! Do you remember when we found out we were betrothed? Do you remember how we hated each other and yet our parents still wanted us married? Do you remember how betrayed we felt? How we felt as though they were controlling our lives? I will bet you this entire kingdom that, that is how Tai will feel when he finds out!"

"You don't know that for sure!"

"I don't, do I?" Sakura asked, beginning to walk out the door, "Why don't we ask him right now? He's only in the gardens. Why don't we ask him whether or not he wants to marry Clarissa!" and she opened the door. Her hold on the knob was suddenly taken away when Syaoran sprinted towards her.

"He doesn't know what he wants! He's six-years-old!" and he continued, "Sakura, don't you remember though? I've loved you for so long, but I mistook that feeling for hate. All we really needed was a push in the right direction from our parents! I'm just thinking that what Tai needs is a shove in the right direction!"

"Doesn't know what he wants?" Sakura repeated, as if not hearing the second part in his sentence, "I knew what I wanted when I was his age! I knew for sure that I didn't want to marry you when I was older - "

" - But you did anyway!" Syaoran interrupted.

Silence filled the room. The tension in the room was so thick that it could've suffocated the both of them. Slowly, Sakura walked passed Syaoran towards the balcony doors and closed and locked them. She closed the curtains, so that the room was now slightly dark, and walked up to Syaoran. She looked at him straight in the eye. He could tell that their argument was not over.

"I will not betroth our son," Sakura said dangerously, "Now, I am going to go out. I can't stand being in the same room with you right now. If you follow me, I'll only be even angrier, so you better not. I will speak with you later tonight if I'm in a better mood, which you better hope I am." and she left the room, her footsteps echoing throughout the halls.

Syaoran sighed and held the palms of his hands against his temples. He'd really done it this time.

**_xxxxxx_**

Sakura sat in the stables, grooming one of the horses. It wasn't her stable of course, but the family that lived there always welcomed her to do whatever she pleased. After all, she was a very good friend to them, and she carried the title of Queen of China with her. It was something she thought of as an advantage, as most people let her do whatever she wanted because of that.

One of the horses neighed, and Sakura giggled. She stopped just as soon as it came out however, realizing that it wasn't a very good moment to be laughing. She sighed and let her head rest on the horses soft mane. She heard footsteps entering, but she did not acknowledge whoever's presence.

"Go away," Sakura said gloomily. She heard a giggle, and knew immediately who it was. "Heart, please don't laugh at me," she said. She turned around and saw before her a ten-year-old Heart, almost grown up and very mature for her age. Her hair had grown to elbow length, but always wore a pretty pink headband Sakura gave her to keep the hair from flying into her face when riding the horses.

"I can't help it, Sakura," Heart replied, walking towards her and stopping to lay her had on Sakura's shoulder. "So, gossip around the village is that you and Syaoran are in a fight. First fight ever, Sakura. How does it feel?" she asked, kind of curious, and kind of disappointed that the happiest couple in the world was having an arguement.

"Heart, come on. I'm really not in the mood," Sakura replied, but was trying to hold back a smile. Heart always seemed to cheer her up.

"Oh, Sakura," Heart began, stroking Sakura's hair, "I'm sorry. What was the fight about? I hope it isn't anything serious,"

"Well..." Sakura droned, "Do you think that betrothing our son is something serious?"

She heard Heart gasp. "No! Betroth Tai? You can't be serious." Sakura nodded. "Sakura, I really don't know what to think. Tai is such a free spirit. Even at his age I'm almost positive that he can make his own choices," and she watched as Sakura gave a kind of, "I knew I was right," kind of look. But then she switched point of views. "But then again, he's just so active he doesn't have time to think about who he's going to marry - and he shouldn't at his age...It's just that...Well, maybe he just needs a tiny push in the right direction,"

A push in the right direction...That's what Syaoran had said. Maybe he was right after all.

"Hey, Heart?" Sakura asked, looking up at Heart with a caring face, "Do you ever regret me and Syaoran not adopting you?"

Heart smiled. "No. The Morano's are a good family, and besides, they did get to me first, and they let me visit you everyday, don't they?" and she earned a giggle from Sakura.

Sakura looked out the window and they stayed in silence for a few minutes. They were so deep into conversation that she didn't even notice the weather change. It was raining lightly, yet hard at the same time. Both of them should've noticed since the water was beginning to reach into the cabin, splattering onto both of their faces. Sakura giggled again. A lot of children, and probably Tai were...dancing in the rain.

That's when it hit her. She sprinted out of the cabin as fast as she could, out onto an empty street where no kids were dancing at all. She flung out her arms and spun around in circles. She fell over lots of times, but she always just got up, and continued doing so again. She could hear Heart yelling at her with a big black overcoat on top of her head, screaming for her to get inside before she got terribly sick. She couldn't help but realize how she and Syaoran were so much alike.

"I'm not coming back inside!" Sakura hollered, as the rain splattered everywhere on her. But then she knew she had had enough. The reason she had come out in the rain was because she wanted to accomplish something, and well - mission accomplished.

"Bye, Heart!" Sakura screamed, as she ran into the direction of the castle. She needed to find Syaoran.

**_xxxxxx_**

Syaoran sighed as he paced the bedroom. He had made such an ass out of himself, wanting to betroth Tai. He knew that he was just trying to do what he thought was best for him, but in the end, he had to do what both him and Sakur agreed on, even if it was what he didn't want for Tai. But he just had to figure that out now, didn't he? He couldn't have figured that out when Sakura was trying to prove a point to him! Now he was feeling absolutely terrible.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Syaoran practiced, for when she got back home, "I'm so sorry. I was only thinking of myself, and for Tai, and I didn't even think about what you wanted too! I won't betroth Tai either. Not unless you agree with me. Whatever decision we make - it's together. I'm so, so sorry," he finally finished.

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open. "Do you mean it?" he heard. He spun around, and found Sakura, dripping wet, standing before him in the doorway. She was smiling, and obviously out of breath. He could tell that she had ran here from wherever she was. He threw his arms around here, not caring about his clothes, or his body temperature. All he wanted to do was get his apology through to his wife.

"Yes, Sakura," he replied, kissing her everywhere, "I meant it. Every word of it. I'm so, so sorry," he said. He looked Sakura in the eye, and noticed a twinkle in them, which he hadn't seen since they went to the beach seven years ago. "Sakura...you're absolutely soaked," he said, as if just noticing her current state. Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, I am, aren't I?" she said, "guess what I did?" and when Syaoran gave no reply, she continued, "I danced in the rain. I was so angry at you that I...I kind of copied my mother. Remember? I told you at the beach a few years ago that - "

" - Whenever your mom got mad at your dad she would just run out into the rain, and remember why she loved him so much," he interrupted, finishing her sentence for her. Sakura smiled, and nodded her head. He kissed her forehead, and suddenly heard a voice from before them. They both turned their heads, and noticed their little boy, standing in the doorway where Sakura had been standing just minutes before.

"Gross!" he said, covering his eyes, "I don't want to see you guys doing that!"

Sakura unwound her arms from Syaoran's waist and bent down low, and gestured for her son to come into her arms. Willingly, he jumped into them and only made her even wet than she already was. It was obvious that he was dancing in the rain too. "Mummy!" he began, pointing to all his wet clothes, "I went out in the rain!"

Sakura laughed. "I notice, sweetheart," and she looked back and forth from her husband to Tai. "Hey, you two? I kind of have some important news, so I'm going to need both of your ears, okay?" Tai, and even Syaoran looked surprised.

"Alright, sweetie..." Syaoran said cautiously, "What is it?"

"Well," Sakura began, walking towards the bed, and lying down on it with Tai in her arms. Syaoran lay beside her, wrapping an arm around her neck, "Tai, sweetheart, you know that Daddy and I love you very much, and if you ever had another brother or a sister we would both love you very equally, right?" Sakura asked. She didn't need to go on. The minute she said that sentence, both boys knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Another one is on the way?" Syaoran asked excitedly. Sakura nodded. "Oh my goodness!" was all he could say. Tai was smiling so bright he could seriously give the sun a run for its money. He was clapping his hands together furiously, and crying out in happiness. He was looking forward to a new baby...whatever it was going to be. All he knew was that he was going to be a big brother.

"Mummy, mummy!" He said all giddy in her arms, "I think you and Daddy should read a story to both me and the baby! I know it will be listening!"

"You think we should?" Syaoran asked. Tai nodded vigorously. "Well," Syaoran began, "Once upon a time..."

"Wait!" Tai interrupted, "Aren't you going to get a story book?"

"No," Syaoran replied, "Mummy and I know this one off by heart. You don't mind, do you son?"

"Nope," Tai replied, "Just as long as it has a happy ending for the baby,"

Syaoran looked from his wife to his son. The corners of his mouth pointed upwards into a sweet smile. "Don't worry," he whispered, "It does,"

**The End**

Authors Notes:

I'm finally finished!

Excuse my typos. Expect a Thank You page from me! And also expect a FINAL chapter for my other story, **Calendar Girl**, and a Thank You page on that too!

**IMPORTANT: Okay, so I was thinking of starting my new story as soon as I'm finished my last chapter of Calendar Girl. I would just LOVE it if all of my reviewers here could go and** **check that out too XD! Here's a preview:**

Summary: Emotion is her power - her power is her weakness. Sakura Kinomoto keeps what she feels inside of her to protect the ones she loves - especially him. SS! RR! Flames will do!

Can't tell you the title yet. It's a secret. PLEASE check it out! Pretty please? Pretty please with two cherries on top? PLEASE AND THANK YOU! XD!

Read and Review, and thanks so much for sticking by this story!

You guys are the best!

Signing Off,  
Azn-blossom08


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